Naruto Ninja Generations
by Hiei27242
Summary: It started out as a regular day at the ninja academy in the Hidden Leaf village. Everything seemed perfectly normal. That is until three new students walked into the classroom, two of them wearing the Uchiha Clan symbol. What could this mean? How are these three not dead? Watch as our heroes face new challenges, experience new love, extreme heartache and even fighting over others..
1. Chapter 1

_**Chapter 1: New Students!**_

Our story takes begins in the Hidden Leaf Village. Everyone throughout the village were going about their daily routines. They were all happy. Especially one kid in particular. Naruto Uzumaki, he had already gotten his squad and was on his way to the academy.

"Alright! I'm so pumped for today!" He yelled.

"Naruto you're so annoying! Will you keep it down!" Sakura yelled. Sasuke sat with his hands folded in front of his face.

"Alright class take your seats." Said Iruka. He pulled out a stack of papers from his desk.

"Now we have some new students, so treat them with respect. You can come in." He called looking at the door.

The door opened and three students walked in. There were two girls and a boy. The girls had matching short pink hair while the boys hair is black. One of the girls wore a white short sleeved shirt with red lining on the ends. The other a blue short sleeve shirt with symbol on the back. The boy wore a long sleeved blue shirt with a symbol on each end of the sleeves.

"Class I'd like you all too meet Asuka, Yoshi, and Sota Higurashi." Iruka said.

"Nice to meet you all." Asuka said.

"Now then….Asuka. You can sit by...Naruto for the time being. Sota you can sit by Hinata. Yoshi you can sit by Shikamaru." He said. All of them sat down

"Now then, these may not be your permanent squads so don't get comfortable."

Iruka sensei went on teaching the class. It was now a few minutes to lunch. Everyone sat around waiting to be dismissed. Sasuke glanced up at Sota and Yoshi. He was surprised to see the symbols on their clothes were Uchiha clan symbols. Anger filled up inside his body. He looked over at Asuka to see her reading a book.

"Hey Asuka! Nice to meet you I'm Naruto Uzumaki!" Naruto said.

"I'm Sakura nice to meet you." Sakura said. Both of them looked over at Sasuke. Well...Sakura did. Naruto glared.

"...Sasuke." He said coldly.

"Nice to meet you all." Asuka said.

"Hey." Sasuke said.

"Huh?"

"I wanna talk to you during lunch." He said.

All of the girls gasped. They all thought Sasuke was asking the new girl on a date.

~Oh great here we go again. Man Sasuke's always so popular.~ Naruto thought.

"No thanks." Asuka said. The entire class gasped.

"She...she turned down Sasuke." Said one girl.

~Cha! What the heck! Sasuke asks her out?! And she didn't even say yes! I hate her so much!~ Said inner Sakura. Sakura sat in ultimate jealousy.

Before they knew it Iruka sensei dismissed them for lunch. Asuka, Yoshi, and Sota all left together. But as they got outside they all went to different spots to eat their lunches. Asuka sat on the park bench. Sasuke walked up to her.

"I was trying to be nice in the classroom. Why are you and your siblings wearing the Uchiha clan symbol?" He demandingly asked.

"I don't have to tell you anything. Now if you'll excuse me." Asuka said getting up.

"We're not done talking." He said serious.

"Well I am." She said leaving. Ino and Sakura watched from far away. Asuka walked to see Naruto talking to Sakura. She seemed to turn him down about something.

"Aw man. She always wants to look for Sasuke." He groaned with his head down.

"Hey Naruto." Asuka said.

"Huh? Oh hey Asuka. Say you wouldn't mind eating lunch with me would ya?" He asked expecting a no.

"Sure I'll eat with you." She said.

"I figured that. I'll see ya la-what?" He said shocked.

"I said yes." She replied.

"I don't see why Sakura didn't want to."

"It's because she's in love with Sasuke! All of the girls are." Naruto said angry. They both sat down and ate lunch. "Actually come to think of it, you're the only girl I've seen to not fall for him automatically."

"I think all of those other girls like him for his looks and attitude." She responded.

"Sometimes I wonder if I had an attitude like him maybe Sakura would like me." He said sulking again.

"You know attitude isn't everything Naruto. All of that seriousness is gonna scar his face. He's gonna look like this!" Asuka said making a funny scowl. Naruto burst out laughing.

Everyone began walking back to class after sometime. As Sota walked in he bumped into a someone.

"Oh so-" He cut himself off. The person he bumped into was Hinata Hyuga.

"Oh I'm sorry." She said apologizing.

"Uh...no. It was my fault." He said his face turning red. Everyone sat down in their seats. Soon enough it was time to go home. Asuka, Yoshi, and Sota walked into their house.

"We're home." Yoshi said.

"How was your first day?" Asked their father Yuki. He was making dinner.

"It was good. We're gonna go do our homework." Asuka said.

"We had homework?" Sota asked.

"Yes. Iruka sensei said we had to practice with our shadow clone technique." She said.

"If you weren't day dreaming you would have heard him." Yoshi added.

"I wasn't day dreaming. I was...thinking." He said looking away. The two girls laughed and the three went upstairs.


	2. Chapter 2

**_***And here is chapter 2! Just so you all know I will have more than one oc in here. And some of them are based off of certain characters. You'll see what I mean in the third chapter. I'll explain them so no one get's confused.***_**

 _ **Chapter 2: Family Visit! Training**_

It was the beginning of a new day. Asuka and her siblings came into the classroom of the ninja academy.

"Oh Asuka I would like to talk with you and your siblings." Iruka said.

"Sure. What is it?" She asked.

"Well since we don't have anymore squad teachers you'll stay in squad 7. Sota you'll be in squad 8 and Yoshi you'll be in…" He trailed off.

 _~In another room~_

"Welcome to team Guy! We're happy to have you! I'm Guy sensei!" He yelled striking a pose.

"Iruka sensei." Yoshi groaned.

"Sorry I don't make the rules." Iruka said leaving.

"Do not worry Yoshi! You are a welcomed member of our team! I'm Rock Lee! The Hidden Leaf village's handsome devil!" He yelled proudly.

"Uh….."

~How did he know my name?~ She thought.

"Don't mind Lee. I'm Tenten. And this guy over here who thinks he's too cool to speak is Neji." Tenten said looking over at Neji.

"Alright let's start training! Yoshi since you are our newest member you'll start of with 50 push up!" Guy said pointing at her.

"50?!" Yoshi yelled.

~Training Field

"Alright Asuka I'm your teacher Kakashi. Since you're new I'll have to come up with an assignment for you." He said.

"Are you ready?"

"Yes." Asuka said.

Kakashi sensei summoned a shadow clone of himself.

"Okay. Your assignment is all of you will have to work as a team to catch my clone."

"Sensei how will we know which of you is the clone?" Sakura asked.

"Just trust you instincts. Let's get started. You have until lunchtime." He said disappearing.

"Alright I'm ready to go! I'll catch him easily!" Naruto said.

"We have to work as a team you idiot!" Sakura yelled.

"I'm sure we can all do this. Let's just put our heads together." Asuka said.

"Why don't we split up first?"

Everyone shook their heads in agreement. Well...Naruto and Sakura did. Each of them split up. Asuka hid up in a tree. Kakashi sensei sat in the open. As she was about to jump out she was grabbed.

"Hey what the heck!" She said. She was turned around to face Sasuke.

"I'm done being nice. You're gonna tell me, why are you wearing the Uchiha clan symbol." He said seriously.

"If you don't remember then I shouldn't have to tell you." She said.

"Remember what? What do you mean?" He asked.

"Nothing." Asuka said turning away from him. Kakashi sensei was gone.

"Man! Now he's-" She was cut off as the branch under her broke. Sasuke jumped onto another one. Asuka screamed as she fell down and landed on someone.

"Ow...hey watch it!" Sakura yelled.

"Why are you sneaking around under the tree I was in?!" Asuka yelled back.

"Why were you up in a tree anyway?! And with my Sasuke!" She yelled louder.

"Doesn't really seem like he likes you too much." Asuka said quietly.

"I was trying to get Kakashi sensei. No if you'll excuse me." Asuka replied walking past her.

"Hey wait! Why does Sasuke want to talk to you so badly!" Sakura shouted. Asuka walked through the trees and hid. Kakashi sensei sat in plain sight. She readied a kunai and got prepared to pounce. As she crept closer the wind began to pick up a bit. Sweat trickled down her head as she moved another inch closer. When all of a sudden…

"I got you now Kakashi sensei!" Naruto yelled jumping out from a tree.

"Wait wait wait Naruto!" Asuka yelled as he landed right on her.

"Huh? Oh it's just you Naruto. Better luck next time." Kakashi said disappearing.

"A man. Huh? Oh hey Asuka how'd you get here?" Naruto asked finally noticing her.

"Na….ru...to…" Asuka said getting up. Naruto swore he saw flames circling around her.

"Uh….hey. That was my bad." He said fearing for his life.

"I had him…..you….YOU IDIOT!" She yelled punching him 10 feet up in the air. He landed 30 feet away from her.

"Agh….she hits just like Sakura." He groaned.

"Uh. I'm sorry Naruto! I didn't mean to do that!" She shouted apologetically.

"It's alright! I get that a lot." He said.

"You know this assignment is the very definition of teamwork." Kakashi said sarcastically. Asuka looked to see him behind her. As she stepped back a robe tied to her foot and she flew into the air and hung upside down.

"A rope trap? Seriously?" She asked.

"Seriously." He said. A bell went off.  
"Oh would you look at that. It's time for lunch."

"So what does this means?" She asked.

"Oh. It means you'll have to get down from here if you wanna eat." He said disappearing.

"Ugh." She groaned.

"Come on...come on." She said trying to reach her foot. Asuka looked over to see Naruto coming towards her.

"Don't worry Asuka!" He yelled running.

"I'll get you-" He was cut off as he ran into another rope trap.

"DOWN!"

"Can this get any-" Asuka was cut off as they heard another scream. They looked over to see Sakura caught in the same trap.

"Worse. Well at least-" Asuka looked to her right to see Sasuke caught in multiple rope traps.

"Man now this is a drag." Naruto said.

"Didn't expect you all to get caught. At least that's one thing you do as a team." Kakashi sensei replied pulling out a book.

"I guess neither of you will be eating lunch."

Time passed as they all hung there. It didn't help the fact Naruto's stomach was growling.

"...Agh! I wanna get down!" Asuka yelled moving frantically. She knocked into Naruto who knocked into Sakura, who then knocked back into him, causing Asuka to knock into Sasuke. All of their ropes snapped and they hit the ground with a loud thud.

"Well...we got down." Naruto said.

"If we work together then we could catch him. It's what we should have done from the beginning." Asuka said getting up.

"And that's why you pass." Kakashi said.

"Huh?"

"I wanted you all to realize teamwork is more important than your differences with each other. Having you chase my shadow clone was just a distraction for you to learn a lesson. So..you pass." He said. You couldn't see it but you could tell he was smiling. All of them cheered. Asuka passed her squad test and headed home.

"I'm home." She said.

"Welcome home. Sota and Yoshi are upstairs. But you have a some visitors." Yuki said.

"Visitors?" She asked. Asuka looked over to see two girls sitting at the table.

"Hey cousin." Said one of the girls.

"It's nice to see you again." Said the other.

"Maru? Honoka? Why are you guys here?" Asuka asked.

"We're here for the Chunin Exams." Maru said.


	3. Chapter 3

**_***And we're back with another chapter of Naruto Ninja Generations! I had a lot of fun writing this chapter. I hope you enjoy reading it.***_**

 _ **Chapter 3: Dogs and Sharingan! A day with Maru and Honoka**_

"The Chunin Exams are almost here?!" Asuka yelled.

"Of course. You were suppose to be training for them." Her mother Yuko said.

"I have to go train!" Asuka yelled running out.

"Um aunt Yuko what should we do?" Honoka asked.

"Well when Asuka realizes that it's nighttime and comes home to rest, tomorrow you can explore the village." Yuko said.

"Well I'm going to bed." Maru said going upstairs.

Asuka came back late at night and passed out in her bed. The next morning she was too tired to move so Maru and Honoka decided to go out on their own. Maru and Honoka are Asuka's cousins from the Hidden Sand Village. They have two brothers, Kazuki and Kozaru. Their father is Taka who is Yuki's brother.

Maru has blonde hair with a side ponytail. She wears a long red dress with shorts underneath. She carries a fan just like Temari. Honoka has short orange hair and blue eyes. Her mother has red hair and her father has blonde and her hair is a mixture of both. Neither of them have blue eyes but that will be explained later. Honoka wears a sleeveless shirt and black shorts with a blue scarf around her neck and waist. Each of them wear their headbands on their waists. You can pretty much say a majority of Asuka's family look like some of the people in the Hidden Leaf Village.

"Well I'm going to find some dumplings." Maru said leaving.

"Oh um. I'll just look around I guess." Honoka said leaving. She walked over to a patch of flowers that were growing by a bench. She knelt down and looked at the flowers. As she admired them a shadow appeared by her. She looked over to see Sasuke.

"You're from the Hidden Sand Village." He said.

"Huh? Oh yes. I'm Asuka's cousin. My name is Honoka." She said standing.

"You're related to her. Why do you mock my clan by wearing our symbol?" He asked.

"Symbol? Oh. You're Sasuke." She said.

"How do you know who I am?" He said taking a step closer.

"I can't say anymore." She said walking away.

"Hey wait!" He yelled grabbing her hand. As she tried to pull away she fell back taking Sasuke with her.

 _~Dumpling shop~_

Maru sat down at a table. She placed her fan down behind her. As she waited for her dumplings to arrive something came up to her.

"Hm?" She looked down.

*Woof* Barked a dog.

"They allow pets in here?" She said to herself.

"Akamaru there you are!" Yelled a voice. She looked over to see a boy with a hood run over to her and stop by the dog. It was Kiba Inuzuka.

"Is this your dog?" She asked.

"Yeah. This is Akamaru." Kiba said picking him up.

"You should keep your mutt tied up." She said.

"Hey what'd you say about Akamaru?!" Kiba yelled.

"You heard me. Keep that mutt away from me. I hate dogs." She said.

"You're gonna regret saying that!" He yelled.

"Bring it on then!" Maru yelled grabbing her fan.

 _~Elsewhere~_

Honoka stared up at Sasuke who was lying on top of her.

"Please let me go." She said her face a slight red.

"Not until you tell me." He said with a serious look.

"I can't. I promised." She said.

"Who? Who did you promise? How do you know me!" He yelled.

"I promised-" She was cut off as she stared up. Sasuke looked over to see Ino and Sakura standing there. Their eyes beyond fury.

"Sakura? Ino?" He said.

They pulled Honoka out from under him.

"What do you think you're doing with our Sasuke?!" Ino yelled.

"Cha! Are you trying to die?!" Sakura yelled also.

"Both of you go away." He said. They both looked at Sasuke shocked.

"I need to talk to her and you two are starting to annoy me." Both of them got nervous and ran away.

Honoka sighed.

"Those two are crazy." She said.

"Tell me what you were going to say." He demanded.

"I promised….your mother." She said.

"My mother?...promised her what?"

"I'm sorry I can't say anymore." She said leaving.

"Hey wait! Tell me!" He yelled going after her. Honoka ran all the way to Asuka's house. Before she could enter Sasuke grabbed her arm and turned her to face him.

"What did my mother tell you!"

"I can't. Please…" She begged.

"Tell me." He demanded. The door opened behind Honoka. Yuki stood there holding a bento box.

"Ah Honoka. I was just coming to look for you. And you've brought a friend. Since you're here you two can share this. It's the bento you made this morning." He said handing her the box. He brought them both to a bench and sat them down.

"Have a nice chat." He said leaving.

The two of them sat there very confused. She opened the lid to a box filled with 8 rice balls. Sasuke was more annoyed but the sight of the rice balls made him hungry. He picked up one that had a cat face on it. He bit the face right off. Surprisingly it was very good. It slightly eased his tension.

"How is it?" Honoka asked.

He glanced at her and then looked back to the riceball. He wasn't going to admit how much he really liked it.

"It's fine." He said eating the rest.

"Oh. Ok." She said looking down. She stared at a riceball that she had taken a bite out of. She wanted to make a good impression on him. Okay let's be honest, she has a crush on him. But not like Sakura and Ino! (You'll find out later.) Sakura and Ino watched from the bushes.

"How dare she steal Sasuke from us." Ino said fuming.

"She'll pay for this." Sakura said angry.

Honoka reached for another rice ball only to touch Sasuke's hand. She pulled away quickly. But the shocking thing was there were only two left! She looked at Sasuke who was starting his fifth one. He looked at her.

"Wha?" He said with a mouthful of rice.

"Um nothing. You have rice on your face." She said wiping the rice from his face.

As they sat there a loud crash could be heard behind them. They both looked over to see Kiba stand up.

"Is that all you got?!" He yelled.

"No!" Maru yelled smacking him with her fan. He got back up and tried kicking her. She grabbed his leg and flipped him. He landed on his feet and grabbed her from behind.

"What are you two doing?" Yuko asked.

"Uh. Aunt Yuko." Maru said nervously.

"How long have you been there?" She asked.

"Long enough to see you fight him throughout the village." She said.

Maru broke free from Kiba and dusted herself off.

"Um well...you see." Maru tried to explain.

Yuko cut her off and grabbed both her and Kiba by the ears. She pulled the two of them towards the direction of her house. Honoka and Sasuke sat there confused. By this time Sasuke had eaten all of the rice balls. They sat in an awkward silence for a little while.

"Sasuke?" She said quietly. He looked at her.

"Your mom said not to tell you until you were older. My whole family promised. I don't want to break that promise." She said looking down.

"I don't understand what she didn't want me to know." He said.

"But I'll tell you now. Since you enjoyed the rice balls I made." She said giving a weak smile.

Sasuke turned away from her.

"Whatever. They weren't that great." He said. (You ate 7 rice balls! If that's not saying something is good then I don't know what is. Back to the story.)

"She didn't want us to tell you that...there were members of the clan that survived." She said.

Sasuke looked at her shocked.

"Then that means…" He trailed off.

"Asuka, Yoshi, Sota...all of our family..are part of the Uchiha clan." She replied.


	4. Chapter 4

_***And here we are with chapter 4! More is learned in this chapter including some future relationships. And sorry to the person who thought my oc's were from the future. They are not. I have a lot of oc's in this and I have relationships planned out. I hope you enjoy who I match up later on in the future.**_

 _ **Chapter 4: Forgotten Memories! Promises and Love?!**_

 _(5 years ago in Konohagakure, the section where the Uchiha Clan used to reside)_

Sasuke walked through the village greeting everyone he saw. He had just returned from the Ninja Academy. He walked into his house, his mother Mikoto, was cleaning clothes. His father Fugaku, was out for now. Itachi was training.

"Welcome home Sasuke." Mikoto said.

"Hello mother." He said setting his bag down.

"Itachi and your father will be back soon. Why don't you go play?" Mikoto said.

"Okay." He said leaving. He walked outside and started kicking rocks.

"Hey Sasuke!" Yelled a voice.

He looked over to see a girl and other people running over to him.

"Hey Asuka. Who are your friends?" He asked.

"These are my cousins. Maru, Kozaru, Honoka, and Kazuki." She said.

Being only 5, Kazuki is the youngest of the group. In the present time he is only 10. Kozaru is the oldest, he is 2 years older than Maru in the present time is 13. Honoka is the same age as Asuka. Kazuki stood holding Kozaru's hand. Honoka is somewhat looking down.

"Hey what's wrong? Are you okay?" Sasuke asked her.

"I'm fine." She said softly.

"Honoka's shy around new people." Maru said.

"Hello everyone." Mikoto said walking outside. She dried her hands on her apron.

"I couldn't help but overhear. Honoka do you like rice balls?"

"Mm hm." Honoka replied softly.

"Well Sasuke likes them too. Why don't you guys come help me make some?" She asked.

"Ok." Honoka said.

"I wanna help too." Asuka said.

"Okay then. I want all of you to go on a special mission to the store. I need some vegetables for dinner tonight. When you get back I'll make everyone a nice big lunch." Mikoto said.

Asuka and the others left for the store. Sasuke and Honoka went inside with Mikoto. She set down a bowl of rice on the table. Sasuke and Honoka took handfuls of the rice and started shaping it. Mikoto cleaned dishes while they made them. Sasuke's were ok. Honoka's looked weird and misshapen.

"Honoka. Your riceball looks like a foot." Sasuke said.

"Sasuke now that's not nice." Mikoto said walking over. Upon closer inspection it really looked like a foot.

"Maybe you can go into rice sculpting." Mikoto said trying not to agree with Sasuke.

"How do you make them right?" Honoka asked.

"I'll tell you. But it'll be our secret. No one can know. Okay?" She said holding out her pinky.

"...Ok." Honoka said wrapping hers around. She gave Mikoto a small smile.

 _(Present)_

"That was 5 years ago. Mrs. Mikoto was so kind to me." Honoka said.

"Yeah. But….I can't remember." Asuka said. The two of them sat on the bench outside. Sasuke had left and Asuka was walking by.

"You don't remember her? It wasn't that long ago." She said.

"I remember her. I remember everyone. But what I can't remember is why we left. We left the night before it all happened. But I don't remember leaving." Asuka said.

"I don't remember either. My dad just told me that we had fallen asleep and he decided to go back to the Hidden Sand Village." Honoka replied.

They stayed silent for a while. Asuka then gasped.

"I have to train!" She yelled before running off.

Honoka sighed. She started walking through the village. Everyone was greeting her with smiles and happy faces. As she walked Maru came out of a nearby store.

"Oh hey Maru." She said.

"Hey. What are you up to?" Maru asked.

"Just thinking. You?" She asked.

"Aunt Yuko is making me shop for her as part of my punishment." Maru said looking annoyed.

"Is it because you got into that fight with that guy and his dog?" Honoka asked.

"Yes! He's dead! When I see that guy he's dead!" Maru yelled.

 _~Elsewhere/Training Field~_

"This sucks! Why am I in trouble?!" Kiba said angrily.

"Maybe because you trashed a store." Shino said looking at a bug.

"Oh of all the times for you to talk you choose now." He said. Shino said nothing.

Hinata sat thinking to herself. She looked over at the sound of someone shouting. It was coming from the other side of the trees. She went through them and looked through the bushes. Naruto was training on the other side. Her heart sped up a beat as she watched him.

(It's Naruto.) She thought.

"Alright. Shadow Clone Jutsu!" He yelled summoning three shadow clones.

"You ready Asuka?" Naruto asked. Hinata looked over to see Asuka come into view.

"You bet! Let's do it." Asuka said.

(Oh. It's her. The new student from our class.) Hinata thought.

 _(In case you all are wondering, yes. This is foreshadowing something later in the story. If you didn't well...here ya go. Foreshadowing always leads to anticipation. Back to the story)_

Asuka pulled out a kunai and charged at the clones. She fought two head on. As the third came she jumped on his head. But Naruto jumped in the air trying to pull off a move. And they both smacked their heads together. They landed on the ground clutching their heads.

"Ow….why do you always have to show off?..." Asuka groaned.

"Because I'm gonna be Hokage. And the Hokage needs to be cool...believe it." He said putting up a weak fist. Hinata laughed a little to herself. It was a funny moment. But she felt strange inside. She didn't know what is was but, she felt weird inside. After a while Naruto and Asuka got back up to train.

 _~Asuka's house~_

Maru placed the groceries into the refrigerator. Then she and Honoka sat down at the table. Yuki and Yuko were out. Asuka, Sota and Yoshi were training at the training field. So they were going to be the only two in the house for a while. Honoka sighed and looked down.

"You know it's funny Maru." Honoka said.

"What is?" Maru responded.

"I couldn't keep my promise to Mrs. Mikoto." She said.

 _(Flashback)_

" _Honoka I want you to promise me something." Mikoto said._

" _Yes?" Honoka answered._

" _I can't say everything but...when you're older and if you ever see Sasuke again, I want you to pretend it's your first meeting." She said._

" _But...why?" She asked._

" _Please just promise me. And if he does find out then I want you to keep him safe no matter what." Mikoto said._

" _But why me? Why not Asuka or someone else?" Honoka asked._

" _Because you show kindness to everyone. And I know no matter what, you'll treat Sasuke with kindness." She said._

" _...Okay. I promise." Honoka replied._

 _(Present)_

"Honoka you didn't break your promise. You still have to keep Sasuke safe." Maru said.

"Me, keep him safe. That's not possible. I'm not strong like you are. Not like Asuka, not like aunt Yuko." Honoka said sadly.

"You don't need physical power to be strong. And I think what she wanted was for you to care for Sasuke in her place." Maru said.

"So stop feeling down." She said gently hitting her on the head.

"...You're right. By the way, I have the strangest feeling." Honoka said.

"What?" Maru replied.

"I feel like I'm being followed." She said. (Sakura and Ino are still following her.)

 _~Elsewhere/Training Field~_

"Come on Sota!" Yoshi yelled.

"Go on without me! I have to practice my kunai throwing." Sota called back.

"Whatever." Yoshi said leaving.

Sota threw 3 kunais at a tree. 2 of them hit the other flew off in another direction. A small yell startled him. He raced into the bushes. He looked to see Hinata on the ground.

"Oh my gosh. Are you okay?" He asked going over to her.

"Ugh…" She groaned.

"I'm okay. I was just startled. The fall hurt me more." She said getting up. After that statement she went back to being her quiet self.

"Um...my name is Sota." He said nervous. His face was starting to turn red.

"I'm Hinata." She said bowing.

"Um nice to meet you. Again sorry for almost hitting you." He said looking away.

~Idiot! Stop apologizing. She's just a girl. There's nothing special about her..besides the fact that she's adorable.~ He thought his face turning a bright red.

Hinata stared down. But glanced up when she thought he was looking at her. Sota turned away immediately.

"Hinata! Where are you!" Kiba yelled.

"Oh. I have to get going." She bowed then left.

"Oh um bye." He said. He sighed and slid down on a tree.

"...Hm. To think, my kunai found my crush. That's funny." He said throwing it. It hit the center of the tree.

 _~Elsewhere~_

Yoshi walked along through the forest. She stopped to see a person in an open field. The person was Neji. She hid behind a tree. Neji was just standing in the center his eyes closed. But then kunai came shooting through the trees. Yoshi looked over to see shadow clones throwing the kunais at him. In an instant Neji spun around with lightning speed. A barrier appearing around him. They blocked the kunais and sent them back. Yoshi watched amazed.

She took back everything bad she had thought about him. Her face actually turned red at the sight of him training. But then she realized a kunai was headed straight for her! The kunai was caught a moment before it hit her. She fell back on the ground from fear. Neji stood over her. He had his usual serious look.

"Oh...hey Neji." She said.

"I would prefer to train alone. And if you are going to spy on someone don't make yourself known." He said before walking away.

"Well excuse me. I thought your skills were cool that's all." She said getting up.

"Hey wait a minute! You jerk you could've killed me!" She yelled.

"I didn't do anything. It was your carelessness that almost got you killed. Don't blame me because you can't dodge." He said leaving the area.

"Why you-" She cut herself off by throwing a kunai in his direction. The kunai came back at lightning speed. She hid behind the tree.

"I'll get you for this."


	5. Chapter 5

**_***And we're back with another chapter in a new year! Happy new year everyone. I've been in a Naruto mood lately so I'll be writing this more often. There might be some mistakes made because it's been a while since I've watched Naruto. So I'll have to go back and look at previous episodes. Anyway enjoy!***_**

 _ **Chapter 5: The Exams Are Approaching!**_

The day had finally ended and it was nighttime. Asuka sat in her room looking out the window. There was a knock at the door. She turned to see Yuki walk in. He brought tea in and set it down on the dresser.

"Asuka are you okay? The Chunin exams are in a few weeks. You should be resting." He said.

"I know but..dad? Um..what happened the day before aunt Mikoto and uncle Fugaku died?" She asked.

"Asuka they're not your real aunt and uncle. I still don't know why you call them that. But what do you mean?" He replied.

"Well...I don't understand why we had to leave. Why didn't we stay? Why weren't we there with Sasuke. He needed us." She said.

"That's a story for another time Asuka." He said changing the subject.

"No! It doesn't make any sense. Why we had to leave, where Itachi went. Or anything." Asuka said.

"Enough!" He yelled.

"If you knew the truth...you wouldn't be able to handle it. No more talk on the Clan. And nothing more on the subject of Itachi." He said leaving.

Asuka stood there in silence. Anger and sadness filled up inside her. She took the tea cup and threw it at the door. The glass shattered and left a mark on the wall. Yuki stood on the other side of the door. He walked away after hearing Asuka get into bed. She laid there under the covers and slowly drifted off to sleep. She began to dream of her times with her family. They are all happy and smiling. It's as if nothing happened. But then the dream turned into a nightmare.

 _(Nightmare)_

"Asuka I'm sorry. But….our clan has been massacred." Yuki said.

"What? How? Why?" She asked.

Yuki walked away from her. She ran after him calling his name. As she went to grab him flames appeared around her. Asuka turned around to see a gate. Piercing red eyes could be seen and a loud roar echoed throughout the room. Asuka shot up awake. Sweat dripping down the side of her face. It was morning now.

"Asuka wake up. We're suppose to train today remember." Maru said opening the door.

"Hey what's wrong?" She asked.

"...nothing. I just had a nightmare." Asuka said getting up.

"Honoka's waiting for us at the training field. Let's go." Maru said leaving. Asuka followed.

"Hey Maru. Do you know….what happened to Itachi?" She asked.

"Itachi? Oh Sasuke's brother. Nah. I didn't really talk to him that much. So I don't know if he got killed or anything." Maru said.

"But...my mom and dad never said if he died or anything. He couldn't have been…" She trailed off.

 _~Asuka's House~_

"Asuka asked about Itachi again." Yuki said.

"Doesn't surprise me. Her, Yoshi, and Sota adored him as if he was their older brother." Yuko said cleaning dishes.

"But none of them know." He said.

Yuko stopped cleaning and stared out the window.

"...If they knew what really happened. Would they forgive him? Would they forgive us?" She said.

"I can't forgive myself." He said.

"For the burden I've placed upon her. Because of him…"

"Itachi?" She asked.

"No. An old friend. Someone that died a long time ago." He said leaving.

 _~Training Field~_

Sota and Yoshi walked through the trees. They had been training against each other for sometime and decided to take a break.

"Hey Sota. How come we never ask asuka to join us?" Yoshi asked.

"Because she's always training with Naruto."

He said.

"Then why don't we train with our squads?" She asked.

Sota was silent for a bit.

"I...don't get along with my squad." He said.

"What do you mean? They seem nice. Or is it because you like that girl Hinata Hyuga?" Yoshi said with a smirk.

Sota's face turned a bright red.

"No! Shut up!" He yelled running away.

"Wait it was a joke!" She called after him.

She went after him. After looking for 20 minutes she gave up looking. She turned around and walked back to the empty field. As she stepped out a kunai nearly hit her. She fell back into the bushes.

"Hey what's the big idea?!" She yelled.

"Sorry. Are you okay?" Said a voice. Yoshi looked up to see a girl with a long ponytail.

"Oh hey you're the new girl." She said.

"Sorry about the kunai I'm Ino Yamanaka. These two are Choji and Shikamaru." She said.

"Wow…" Yoshi said.

"I love your outfit. What kind of jutsus can you do?"

Ino's face lit up as Yoshi said that.

"Did you guys hear that? She loves my style. If you love me so much how about I take you under my wing?" Ino asked.

"Would you?" She asked.

"Of course! I can't wait to teach you my charms and amazing ways." She said.

"Great. Just what we need, another Ino." Shikamaru said. Choji stood there eating his chips.

 _~Elsewhere~_

Sota sat against a tree panting. He looked around to make sure no one was near him.

"...So what if I like her?...It's not like she likes anyone else." He said.

"What if she does? I have to get stronger so I can impress her."

A kunai hit the tree he was sitting against. He looked behind him to see Neji training. Neji was practicing the rotation and the gentlefist. Sota was amazed by Neji's technique and skill. He looked over to see Sota watching him. He stood up.

"Um...I think your fighting style is cool." Sota said.

"Could you teach me?" He asked.

"What a ridiculous question. I would not waste my time training the likes of you." Neji said.

"Please. The Chunin Exams are coming and I don't think I'll win." He asked.

"The Hyuga don't train anyone outside of their own family." He said.

"Give me a reason on why I should take the time to teach you."

~If I don't come up with a good reason he won't train me. And I won't be able to impress Hinata!~ He thought.

"Because. If you teach me it would be better for the Hyuga name. It would prove they can train anyone even if they're not one of their own." Sota said.

"Your words have true meaning. If I were to train them what are you willing to do if you are so committed?" Neji asked.

"I'll do whatever it takes. Even if it means destroying my body." He said. With that Neji left. Sota stood there for a minute. Then he realized.

"Wait….."

 _~Flashback~_

" _Is it because you like that girl Hinata Hyuga?" Yoshi asked._

" _The Hyuga don't train anyone outside of their own family." Neji said._

 _~Present~_

"He's Hinata's brother. Can't believe it took me that long to figure it out but...if I can get on his good side he might let me see Hinata more." Sota said happily.

(I know Neji may seem a bit out of character here but bear with it.)

Weeks went by as everyone trained. Before anyone knew it the Chunin exams were in two days. Asuka and Maru walked through the village. They had train as much as possible and were now relaxing.

"Alright I'm ready for the exams!" Asuka said.

"You say that now but wait until we actually take them." Maru said.

"Hey Asuka!" Naruto yelled running up to them.

"Oh hey Naruto." She said.

"Hey who's this?" He asked.

"I could ask you the same thing shorty. My name is Maru." Maru said.

"I'm Naruto Uzumaki! And I'm gonna become Hokage, believe it!" He said.

"Do you say that to everyone you meet?" She asked.

"Huh?" Naruto said.

"Hey what's that suppose to mean?"

"Enough with the introductions. We can finally take a break. I say we go to Ichiraku." Asuka said walking away. Naruto was more than thrilled. As Asuka turned a corner she bumped into a person.

She fell back but Maru caught her. Asuka looked up to see a guy and a girl staring down at her. The guy was wearing all black with purple face paint and a large object on her back. The girl had two short spiky twin pigtails with a somewhat short dress. She carried a fan on her back.

"Well what do we have here?" The guy said.

"Kankuro." Maru said annoyed. Things just got more interesting.

 _ ***After going over the chapter I realized I use people's names a lot when writing. Sorry if it's repetitive I just do that to make sure no one gets confused. Chapter 6 will be up later on in the week.***_


	6. Chapter 6

*And here's chapter 6! I'm running out of things to say...just know a secret will be revealed soon. Oh yeah, there's been a hint towards another relationship.*

Chapter 6: : A Royal Meeting! Enter Into The Forest Of Death!

While that was happening most of the Jonin of the village had gathered into the Hokage's office.

"You wanted to speak to all of us Lord Hokage?" Iruka asked.

"Yes. We've received word from one of our neighboring allies. They would like to have someone of a higher class review the Chunin Exams." Said Sarutobi.

"Was do you mean by higher class?" Kurenai asked.

"A child that comes from a wealthy family. She is the heir and is one day going to take control of some supplies that we trade throughout other villages." He said.

"Well where is this child?" Guy asked.

"She's outside." He said.

The door opened up, a woman and a child stepped in. The girl was 12 years old. The woman wore a red kimono with flower patterns and a purple sash. Her hair was tied up in a slightly messy bun and she had a somewhat serious look. She had black hair and piercing blue eyes. The girl on the other hand looked much kinder. She had short brown hair reaching to her ears and amethyst eyes. She wore a blue kimono with leaf patterns all around.

The woman's face softened as she bowed to all of them. The girl followed.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Lord Hokage." The woman said.

"My name is Reiya. And this is my daughter Yuri." She said.

"Welcome to the Hidden Leaf Village." Yuki said to Yuri.

"We're happy to have you two here with us. We hope you enjoy your stay here." Sarutobi said.

"Yuri let's go explore the village. I've been wanting to look around the Hidden leaf village for sometime." Reiya said.

"I'll escort you." Said Iruka. The three of them left the office.

~Elsewhere~

Kankuro hovered over Asuka.

"Looks like we got a couple of small fry." He said cracking his knuckles.

"Back off Kankuro." Maru said getting in front of him.

"It's just like you and Temari to gang up on someone."

"Hmp. Don't compare me with him. I'm not involved in this." Temari said.

"Out of the way Maru. I'm not in a good mood so I can't guarantee you'll leave without a scratch." He said.

"Make me." She said.

"Fine then. I will." He said raising his hand.

"That's enough Kankuro. You're an embarrassment to our village." Said a low and eerie voice. Everyone looked over to see a boy with a gourd on his back. He had red hair cut very short and dark circles around his green eyes.

Kankuro's face turned from serious to terrified.

"Oh...hey Gaara. This is just a misunderstanding. You see they started it and-" He was cut off.

"Shut up." Gaara said threatening.

"Or I'll kill you."

"Um..right. I was totally out of line." He said.

"I'm sorry for any trouble that was caused." Gaara said looking down towards Asuka and Maru. Asuka was too nervous to say anything. So she shook her head in an ok response.

~When did he get there?~ Asuka thought to herself.

Gaara turned to sand and appeared behind Kankuro and Temari.

"We didn't come here to play games. Let's go." He said.

The three of them left. Everyone stared off in their direction. As the three of them walked through the village, Yuri and her mother along with Iruka were walking in the opposite direction. She was about to walk around them but stopped in front of Gaara.

"Yuri It's very rude to stare. Is something the matter?" Her mother asked.

Gaara didn't care that she was staring at him, he was used to that. But someone standing in front of him was new. He stared down at her with menacing look.

"Why do you look so sad?" She asked.

He raised his eyes a bit at the question.

"What did you say?" He asked his eyes now filled with anger.

"Your eyes. There's so much sadness hiding behind them." She said. She reached over and touched the side of his face. Now he was shocked. Kankuro and Temari had heart attacks.

He grabbed her wrist tightly. Even though it hurt she continued to stare at him.

"Stop looking at me….stop looking at me with those eyes of yours." He practically growled.

Temari and Kankuro released her from Gaara's grip. They hurried along past Yuri and her mother.

"What on earth was that about?" Reiya asked. She looked down at Yuri who was holding her wrist. She took her hand and examined it.

"Yuri that boy hurt you. I'll straighten him out." She said getting up.

"No mother. It's alright." Yuri said.

"But lady Yuri." Iruka said.

"I'm okay Mr. Iruka." She said smiling at him.

Iruka's worried expression softened. He took out bandages from his pocket and wrapped her wrist up.

"This should keep the swelling down until we get some medical treatment." He said. Yuri looked over back in the direction that Gaara went.

Temari and Kankuro were freaking out on the inside. Someone touched Gaara. And they're still alive! Not to mention he almost attacked her in front of a Jonin. While they were thinking about this Gaara was trying to contain himself. Temari walked a little closer to him.

"Gaara you can't let her get to you." Temari said.

Gaara glared at Temari with the most evil eyes you could think of. She was terrified and stepped back. Gaara was clutching his head. Yuri's words playing over in his mind.

"Your eyes. There's so much sadness hiding behind them."

"Those eyes...I can still see them. How dare she look at me with those eyes…" He said.

"What's wrong with him?" Temari asked quietly.

"I don't know. Lots of people stare at him." Kankuro replied back.

"I want to know why...I need an answer. After I get it I'll rip those eyes from her head." He said walking away. Temari and Kankuro followed after.

While that happened Iruka and Reiya were puzzled on what Yuri had said.

"Yuri. What did you mean by that boy being sad?" Reiya asked.

She stopped walking and looked down.

"I don't know. Looking at him just made me feel sad." She said.

"How so? Like pity?" She asked.

"Yeah. Even though he walked with his head held high it was like he was still hiding himself from everyone." She said.

"No more meetings with adults for you. I swear a 12 year old should not be talking this way. You're about to make me cry." Her mom said.

~Back with Asuka~

"So those three were from the Hidden Sand Village?" Naruto asked. Maru shook her head.

"How come you came earlier than them?"

"Because Honoka and I wanted to. There was no need for us to wait." Maru replied.

~Outside of the Hokage Office~

Yuki, Kakashi, and Guy sensei stood outside the Hokage's office. They had finished their meeting with the third Hokage. They left the building and went to the Yakiniku Q. They sat down and ordered tea. Yuki was lost in thought and Kakashi and Guy noticed.

"Something wrong Yuki?" Guy asked.

He sighed and stared at the cup.

"It's just….I've been lying to my children." He said.

"What do you mean?" Kakashi asked.

"...The reason behind my family leaving the village is because of a certain accident. I've kept it a secret for so long. They don't even know what really happened to Itachi." He said.

"Your kids don't have to know everything. Somethings are better hidden until the times comes to tell them." Guy said.

"Yes but...two accidents occurred actually. One of them happened a week before we left." He said.

"What was it?" Kakashi asked.

"...Itachi hurt Kazuki." He replied.

"That's your brothers youngest child." Guy said a little surprised.

"Kazuki wasn't very open. Itachi became like an older brother figure to him. One day Itachi was practicing his kunai technique." He said.

"Let me guess. Kazuki came out and was struck by one of them." Kakashi said.

"Yes. Even though it was an accident, because he was so young Taka and his wife started to show resentment towards Itachi." Yuki said.

"This began to affect my friendship Fugaku."

"How did that affect Kazuki?" Kakashi asked.

"He was afraid of Itachi at the time. Eventually their relationship got better and things started to look up. However that wasn't the reason we left. Then…" He trailed off.

"Then what?" Guy asked.

"Nothing. I'd rather not say." He said.

"Let's just eat before the food gets cold."

Guy and Kakashi didn't ask anything else after that. The three of them sat in silence for the rest of the time they were there. Everyone participating in the exams continued to ready themselves. Finally after two more days of preparation, the exams were finally here. Everyone took the standard written exam and they were now ready to go into the forest of death. All of the squads stood at the gate. Asuka looked over to see Yoshi and Sota.

"Hey Asuka." Yoshi said.

Asuka turned to look at her and noticed something was different.

"Yoshi? What did you do to your hair?" Asuka asked.

"I dyed it to match Ino's." She said.

"Why? Just...why?" She asked. Before Yoshi could answer they were given the rules before entering the forest. With that everyone went in. But they're not the only ones inside.


	7. Chapter 7

_**Chapter 7: The Forest Of Death!**_

All of the squads entered the forest of death. Maru went with Yoshi and Honoka went with Asuka. The rules are simple. All teams have been given either a heaven or an earth scroll. Once inside the forest, the genin must take the other scroll from another team. Only those that make it to the tower in the center of the forest with both scrolls will advance to the next stage of the exams.

"Alright then let's do this!" Naruto said.

"This forest is scary." Honoka said.

"It's not that bad." Asuka replied. At that moment screams could be heard all around them. Shivers went down Honoka's spine. She ran from the group and went into the forest.

"Honoka come back!" Sakura called out.

All of them went deeper into the forest. Honoka hid behind a tree.

"Come from behind there." Asuka said.

"I'm sorry guys. I shouldn't have reacted like that." She said.

"Let's just go." Sakura said annoyed.

"Man..you sure are a scaredy cat Honoka." Naruto replied.

"Just stand behind me I'll protect you! Believe it!"

"I'll count on Sasuke to protect me." Sakura said.

"I hope Sasuke will protect me too." Honoka replied quitely.

All of a sudden Sasuke struck Honoka across the face, causing her to stumble back into a tree.

"Sasuke what the heck!?" Asuka yelled.

"Why would you do that?..." Honoka asked.

Sasuke charged at her again. Honoka dodged his attacks. She pulled out a kunai and they started to fight head on. They moved fast up a tree and he knocked her to the ground. He pinned her to the ground and held a kunai up to her throat.

"Sasuke what are you doing?" Sakura asked.

"Yeah have you gone crazy?!" Naruto added.

"Take a good look. This isn't Honoka." He said.

"Sasuke what are you talking about? I am Honoka!" She pleaded.

"Oh yeah? The real Honoka is too shy to ask me to protect her." He said.

"And you're wearing your headband around your neck. The real Honoka wears hers around her waist!"

"...Hmp. I guess you found me out. I wasn't as good as I thought." She said her voice becoming sinister.

She moved quickly out from under him. A huge smoke of cloud formed as the transformation wore off. A male rogue ninja appeared out of the smoke.

"What have you done with Honoka?!" Asuka yelled.

"Nevermind the girl. Just give me whatever scrolls you have." He said.

"You'll have to beat us for it." Asuka said. Her, Naruto, and Sasuke charged at the ninja.

 _~Elsewhere In The Forest~_

"Ah!" Honoka yelled.

"Huh? Where am I? Why am I tied up?" She said sitting up. A loud crash echoed through the forest. Honoka looked over to see a ninja sprawled out next to her, unmoving. Her heart drop. She inhaled and let out a scream before fainting.

"I think I heard her!" Sakura said.

"This way!" Asuka said. The four of them ran past the spot Honoka was in.

"I thought she'd be here."

"Can't believe that guy got away. I would've given him something to run from believe it." Naruto said.

"Keep moving you idiot." Sasuke said annoyed.

"What'd you say!" Naruto said angry.

"You heard me. Loser." He replied walking.

"I'll show you!" He yelled furiously. Sakura and Asuka sighed. The group kept on moving.

While walking a leaf blew into Asuka's face.

"Huh? Where'd this come from?" She said. Everyone looked over. Deep in the forest a giant gust of wind shot out. It engulfed everyone in it. After a while it stopped.

"What was that?" Asuka said.

"I don't know." Sakura replied. She had been knocked into a tree.

"Sakura. Are you okay?" She asked.

"I'll be fine. But where's Naruto and Sasuke?" She asked panicked.

 _~Elsewhere~_

"Ugh." Sasuke groaned.

"I let my guard down." He looked over to see Honoka still on the ground.

"Honoka. Hey. Wake up."

"Uh...Sasuke?" She groaned. He quickly untied her.

"What happened?" She asked. The two of them looked over to see a ninja standing there. It was the same one that had given Anko her kunai after Naruto mouthed off.

"No time to explain. Stay on your guard." He said standing up. She stood up as well. The ninja pulled out an Earth scroll.

He gave a small chuckle.  
"Now then. Let's begin...the fight over our two scrolls." He replied as she brought the scroll up to his mouth. A long tongue wrapped around it and he swallowed it whole.

"Whoever gets the scrolls will walk away alive...and the other will be dead." He replied. His eyes exposed and bloodshot.

The two of them gasped as they stared into his eyes. In an instant their own deaths flashed before their eyes. They screamed in horror as they were killed a hundred times over. As they were brought back into reality the two nearly fainted. Even though it was an illusion the two were slightly scared of how real it felt.

~An illusion?..No. It was an intent to kill. Just who is this guy?~ Sasuke thought.

"H-Honoka…" He said looking over at her.

She looked back over at him. He could see the terror in her eyes. But they could read each other.

~I'm scared...my body. It won't move.~ She thought.

~This isn't good. We need to run or else...move! Come on move!~ He thought reaching for a kunai. He grabbed it and struggled to stand.

"And just what are you going to do with that?" He said. He began to walk towards him.

~I can't move!~ Sasuke thought. His body wouldn't stop shaking. In a quick moment the man disappeared.

~What? Where'd he go?~

 _~Elsewhere~_

"Where do you think they are?" Sakura asked.

"I don't know. Sasuke can handle his own. But I wouldn't be surprised if Honoka and Naruto were dead….or eaten." Asuka said.

"Can't argue with you on that one." She replied. She went silent for a bit.

"Hey Asuka. I know I shouldn't be sticking my nose into this but….how are you connected to Sasuke?"

Asuka stopped walking. Sakura followed.

"Well...I'm not one to leave someone in the dark. We're family." Asuka said.

"You mean like brother and sister?" Sakura asked.

"No. I mean we come from the same clan so we're family. The reason we were never really close with anyone is because my father married outside of the family." She said.

"How come Maru and Honoka live in the sand village?"

"Well their dad didn't want to stay in the Hidden Leaf Village. He wanted the Uchiha to be more spread out. But that didn't really work since he married outside the family as well." She said.

"So….do you like Sasuke?" She asked.

"No way. He's like a brother to me. He and…" she trailed off.

"And? Who else is there?"

"...I know Honoka likes him for sure." She said.

"Cha! That's right! I can't be beaten by her! Sasuke is mine!" She said angrily.

~I don't know about that Sakura. Honoka doesn't like him for his looks or attitude. She tries to understand him….~ She thought.

As the two of them started walking again the ninja appeared before them.

"Uh! What the!" Sakura said.

"Who are you?!" Asuka yelled.

He gave a small laugh.

"I see it now. That's what he did." He said.

"That's what he did? What are you talking about?!"

The ninja appeared in front of Asuka. His long tongue wrapped around her neck. She kicked and squirmed but was unable to break free.

"Asuka!" Sakura yelled.

Purple like chakra appeared on his finger tips.

"Five Pronged Seal!" He yelled hitting Asuka directly in the center of her stomach.

"Agh!" She yelled. Her body went limp as she lost consciousness. He removed his tongue and let her fall to the floor.

"That should do it." He said before disappearing.

"Asuka!" Sakura yelled running over to her. She lifted her head up.

"Asuka wake up please!" She yelled shaking her.

"...Naruto! Sasuke! Where are you?!"

 _~Outside the Forest~_

Yuki looked over at the forest gate.

"Something wrong?" Asked one of the village ninja.

"...No. I thought I heard something." He said.

"Huh? What do you mean? We've been hearing screams all day. Maybe it's starting to get to ya." Anko said.

"No...that's not it." He said.

"Yuki! Anko!" Yelled another ninja.

"Come quick we found something."

All of the Ninja went over to the sight. Three ninja were lying dead by the trees. Each of their faces missing.

"...No. It can't be." Anko said to herself.

~This technique. I've seen it before..~ Yuki thought.

"Uh. That means!" He said turning back to the forest.

 _~In the Forest~_

"This is bad. Where is everyone?!" Naruto yelled jumping through the trees. He stopped on a tree and looked down.  
"Sasuke. Honoka. Don't worry I'll save you!" He said jumping down.

 _~Elsewhere~_

"Don't worry Asuka. I'll keep you safe." Sakura said carrying Asuka on her back. As she walked through the forest screams could be heard. But not just any scream.

"That sounded like...Sasuke! Naruto!" She yelled running.

Sakura ran into an open part of the forest. There she saw Naruto on the ground and Honoka holding Sasuke who was hunched over on the ground.

"Sakura!" She said.

"Honoka what happened? Was it that man?" She asked.

Honoka shook her head in a reply.

"What do we do now?" She asked.

"I….I don't know." Sakura replied.


	8. Chapter 8

_***I wanted to try a new style. Let me know if it's easier to read this way.***_

 _ **Chapter 8: To Protect Our Friends! Cursed Mark Unleashed!**_

Honoka and Sakura placed their teammates under a tree. They were in a very bad situation. Asuka, Sasuke, and Naruto were all unconscious. The two of them sat against the tree thinking on what to do next.

"This is bad. We're sitting ducks out here." Honoka said.

"Yeah. I don't know what to do now." Sakura replied. The two of them sat in silence for sometime.

Asuka shot up startled. "What happened?" She asked.

Naruto sat up yawning. "Man I had a good nap." He said stretching. Sasuke sat up groaning.

"You're all okay." Sakura said.

Just then Honoka looked over. A giant snake appeared behind them. She tried to speak but nothing would come out. She looked around to see everyone talking to one another. But there was no sound coming out of their mouths either. Then the snake opened it's mouth wide.

She gasped as she opened her eyes. She looked over to see Sakura asleep. Naruto,Asuka, and Sasuke were still unconscious.

"A dream…." She said. Sakura woke up a little later.

"Is everything okay?" She asked.

"Yeah I just...had a nightmare." She said.

The two soon heard movement coming from a bush. They looked over. It was getting louder and closer. Sakura's arms shook as she pulled out a kunai. Honoka remained calm and pulled out one as well. A squirrel ran out towards them. They breathed a sigh of relief. But Sakura threw her kunai at the animal's feet, causing it to run away.

"Did she figure out there was an exploding tag on the squirrel?" Said Zaku.

"No. That's not it." Said Dosu.

"Yeah? Then why?" He asked. "Explain."

"We'll probably find out if we get closer." He said.

"So let's get going soon."

After a long while morning soon came. Honoka and Sakura took turns sleeping.

"Morning?...I hope everyone wakes up soon." Honoka said.

"It must be tiring for the two of you to take turns keeping watch." Said Dosu. Honoka and Sakura held their kunai tightly as they looked over. Three ninja from the sound village stood before them. "We want to fight Sasuke."

~These guys are..~ Sakura thought.

 ** _~Elsewhere~_**

"Come on Ino." Shikamaru said.

"Come on what?" She replied.

"It's obvious you're searching for Sasuke." He said.

"Yeah and?!" She yelled.

"Do you even know where to look?" Choji asked.

"Nope. I have love on my side!" She said determined. The three of them continued to walk until they stumbled upon the scene. They ducked down in the bushes.

"Look it's the new girl and Sakura." He said.

"But what happened to Sasuke?" Ino said worried.

"Sshh. Look something's happening." Shikamaru replied.

"What do you mean? What's your purpose? We know a man named Orochimaru's behind this!" Sakura said. (Sorry forgot to write in Orochimaru introducing himself.)

"There's no way we're gonna let you get anywhere near Sasuke." Honoka replied.

"Hmp. These girls are so noisy. I'll kill these two and Sasuke." Said Zaku.

"Wait Zaku." Said Dosu.

"What?"

"How pathetic. A poorly made trap was placed here." He replied removing a patch of grass. "Let's kill these two right away." He said. All three of them jumped into the air. Sakura took out a kunai and cut a string. A log came swinging down. "There was a trap above us?" He said. He placed his hand in front and destroyed the log.

Sakura's heart sank.

"Sakura!" Honoka yelled pushing her back. Honoka's hands moved at lightning speed as she took in a deep breathe. _Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_ A giant fireball a shot out from her mouth and sent the three ninja back.

"This one has some fight in her." Zaku replied.

"You won't hurt any of us. Not as long as I'm still standing." She said. " _Sharingan!_ " She said her eyes turning red.

"Honoka. You're in no condition to fight." Sakura said.

"If I don't then who will?" She asked.

"I'll fight." She replied.

"Sakura….if you're willing to fight, then stand up." She said. Sakura's legs refused to move.

"Zaku you handle Sasuke. I'll kill these two." Dosu said charging at them. Honoka pulled a tree root up from the ground blocking Dosu's attack.

"Your attack has some kind of trick to it. I won't block it normally." She said.

Honoka removed her scarf from her neck and waist. Dosu charged at her once more. She moved quickly and kicked him high in the air. She appeared behind him upside down. There she wrapped her arms around his waist and her legs around his torso. A split second before the impact Zaku shoved his hands into the ground to break the fall. Dosu went head first into dirt. Honoka jumped back a few feet away.

"Oh boy...looks like I made it in time." Zaku replied. Dosu pulled himself out and shook his head.

"No way!" Honoka said.

"That was a pretty deadly move. I was dropped onto this sponge ground and yet it hurt like hell." He said. "Now it's my turn." He ran towards her and swung his arm. Honoka dodged it but soundwaves filled her ears.

"Honoka!" Sakura yelled.

Her vision started to become warped.

"You may be fast. But our moves are the speed of sound. Those eyes of yours are useless if you can't move fast enough to dodge."

Honoka started to breathe heavily. She threw up from her impaired vision. She opened her eyes as blood trickled down her left ear. ~This is bad…~ She thought.

"You're next!" He yelled charging at Sakura. She readied a kunai.

"N-no! You won't touch her!" Honoka yelled kicking him back.

"Honoka." Sakura said.

"...I'm surprised kid. You took my soundwave and managed to knock me back. You're not as weak as I thought you were." He replied. He appeared in front of her. "But it's still not good enough." He said striking her. She blocked the blow with her arm but soundwaves filled her entire head.

"Honoka!" Sakura yelled.

"Uh…" She said falling to all fours. As Sakura tried to go over to her Kin grabbed her by the hair.

"Hmp. Should've spent more time training and less time with your hair." She said. "Zaku. Kill Sasuke in front of these two pigs." Dosu said.

"Sounds good." He said walking over to Sasuke.

"No...Sakura.." Honoka said trying to stand. Dosu stepped on her back.

"Guys I think we should get out of here." Shikamaru whispered.

"Yeah agreed." Choji said.

"Ino?" He asked. Ino stayed silent and stared at the battle.

Kin pulled Sakura's hair again. Sakura opened her eyes to see Dosu pick Honoka up by her shirt.

"Don't worry. I'll make sure Zaku wakes him up so he can see how pathetic you look." Dosu said.

"Honoka…" Sakura said tears flowing down her face. She thought back to all the times she had to be protected. How Honoka who is just as scared as she is found the courage to fight. And now she's going to die. Well she's not going down without a fight. She took a kunai from her pouch.

"You think a kunai is gonna hurt me." Kin said smug.

"This isn't for you." Sakura replied. She lifted it up and cut herself from Kin's grasp. It was at this moment Sakura's innocent weak self vanished, and from this day forward she would fight for her friends.

~Sakura…~ Ino thought.

"Kin kill her!" Zaku yelled.

Kin attacked her but it was a shadow clone. Sakura appeared to the right of Zaku firing kunai's at him. He shot them back at her only to reveal it was another clone. He looked up to see Sakura up in the air firing more kunai. He shot them back at her. He looked around expecting to see another clone. But it was the real Sakura above him. She used her remaining kunai to stab him. As they fell over she bit him down. Zaku began punching her in the head to get her off. But she refused to let go.

~Sakura...you're so determined to fight, even though you're out of options. Since you won't give up...I won't either.~ Honoka thought as she weakly got to her feet.

"Let go!" Zaku yelled punching Sakura in the head, knocking her off. "What the hell?! What's she doing back up?!"

"You're beginning to annoy me kid. This time when I knock you down you'll stay down!" Dosu yelled charging at her. Honoka dodged his attack and sped past him. She appeared behind Kin and kicked her in the head, knocking her out. (Cause Kin is weak and not important in my opinion). She summoned a demon wind shuriken and hurled it a Zaku. As he tried to use his sound waves to knock it back it cut deep into his leg.

"Honoka. I'm sorry." Sakura said.

"Why are you apologizing. You stood up to fight. But...I think I may have used my last resort." Honoka replied.

"What do you mean?"

"I used a lot of my strength just to stand. And my remaining chakra on that move. And right now I'm too tired to even move an inch. Guess I couldn't help as much as I thought." She said.

"You damn brat! I'll kill you!" Zaku said firing sound waves. Since he was hurt it was slightly weakened. Honoka got knocked back by the force of it. She headed straight towards a tree. Sakura closed her eyes not wanting to look. But nothing happened. Sakura looked over to see Sasuke holding Honoka.

"Sasuke! You woke up…?" She said. Her face turned from happiness to utter shock. Dark overpowering energy flowed all around Sasuke.

~That's Sasuke?~ Ino thought. Shikamaru looked down and noticed Ino's legs beginning to shake.

~We need to get out of here.~ He thought.

"Shikamaru can we leave now? We're just sitting here." Choji said.

"Believe me I want to leave just as badly. But my body won't move." He replied.

"...Uh.." Honoka said opening her eyes. "Sasuke? Uh!" Honoka gasped at the sight of him. Markings began to appear on half of his body. He walked over and placed her on the ground next to Sakura.

"...Sakura. Who did this to you guys?" He asked.

"S-Sasuke...your body." Sakura said.

"...Don't worry. More importantly I can feel power surging through my body. I'm feeling good right now." He said clenching his fist. "He gave it to me. I understand now. I'm an avenger. I'm going to use this power, even if it means I'll be consumed by it."

"Sasuke." Honoka replied.

"Honoka! Sakura! Say it! Who the hell hurt you?!" He demanded.

"I did." Zaku said cocky. Sasuke turned to face him. He stood glaring at him. The markings around Sasuke's body began to spread all over.

~This is!...This is too much!~ Dosu thought.

"Dosu don't be afraid of this freak! I'll kill them all!" Zaku said.

"No Zaku! Don't you understand?! He'll kill all of us!"

"Maximum Air Cutter!" Zaku yelled. A huge amount of wind shot out from his palms. When all of the smoke cleared nothing was there. "They blew into pieces."

"Who did?" Sasuke said appearing behind him and smacking him in the head. Zaku went flying towards Dosu.

"Zaku!" Dosu yelled. Zaku weakly got up.

"He's fast...and he did it while moving all four of his teammates.."

Sasuke turned towards them and began doing a hand sign. _Fire Style, Phoenix Flower Jutsu!_ Multiple flames shot out straight towards them.

"Don't get cocky kid! I'll erase them!" Zaku said firing wind at them. The flames disappeared and revealed shuriken coming straight for him. The shuriken moved fast and cut him all around.

"Zaku below you!" Dosu yelled.

Sasuke appeared right in front of Zaku. In an instant he was bent over as Sasuke held his arms behind him. His foot was on the center of his back. Sakura and Honoka were shocked as an evil smile formed on Sasuke's face. The smile intensified. He began to push his foot into Zaku's back.

"You seem to be proud of your arms." He said.

"What? What are you doing?" Zaku said. Fear began to rise inside of Sakura and Honoka.

Honoka thought back to what Orochimaru said. (We were with Asuka and Sakura when this was said.)

" _Sasuke will seek me." He said._

Time seemed to stop as Sasuke without even trying, pulled Zaku's arms from their sockets. Zaku screamed in agony as Dosu, Honoka, Sakura watched in sheer horror. He laid there twitching before losing consciousness. Sasuke turned his attention to Dosu. The eerie smile not leaving his face.

"That leaves just you." He said. Dosu shook in fear. "You better entertain me more than him." He said walking towards Dosu.

"Sasuke…" Sakura said. She looked over at Honoka.

"That's not….that's not the Sasuke that I know." She said tears streaming down her face.

"Honoka…." She said.

Honoka stood up using her remaining strength and ran towards Sasuke. "No! Stop!" She yelled embracing him from behind. Sasuke looked back at her with his paralyzing glare. She stared at bak him terrified but determined not to let go. Tears were still flowing down her face. "Please….Sasuke…just stop..." The markings around his body started to retract back into the seal on his neck.

~The markings are going away. Looks like I'm safe for now.~ Dosu thought.

Sasuke sat on the ground breathing heavily. Sakura went over to him.

"Sasuke." She said.

"You're strong. Sasuke we cannot defeat you." Dosu said pulling out a scroll and placing it on the ground. "Let's make a deal. Please let us leave for now. We may be asking for too much but we have something to confirm." He said picking up Zaku and Kin. "In exchange, if we are to fight each other for a second time in this exam we will not run or hide."

"Wait!" Sakura called out. "Who is Orochimaru?! What did he do to Sasuke and why him?!"

"I don't know. We were just ordered to kill Sasuke." Dosu said. "I don't know why Orochimaru wanted us to go after him. And I don't know what his plans are." He replied leaving.

"Are you guys okay?" Ino asked. All three of them ran over to everyone.

"Sakura watch out...don't worry I'll protect you." Naruto said in his sleep.

"Shut up...Naruto. You can't even protect yourself." Asuka said in her sleep.

"What should we do with these two?" Shikamaru asked.

"Let's kick them awake." He said.

"Can I do it?" Choji asked.

Sasuke just stared at his hand. He was slightly trembling. ~What was I?~ He thought.


	9. Chapter 9

_**Chapter 9**_

"AAAAHHH!" Naruto yelled sitting up. (Can't be bothered with writing in his dumb nightmare) Shikamaru and Choji stood next to him annoyed. He had a bump on his head from where Choji hit him with a stick. He looked over to see Sakura, Sasuke and Honoka all sitting by each other.

"Naruto." Sakura said.

He thought back to Orochimaru.

"Where is he? Everyone get down!" He said ducking. "Asuka wake up we're all in danger!" He said shaking her.

She replied by hitting him on the head. Another bump forming on the one he already had.

"I can hear you." She said. She looked over to see everyone. She immediately ran over to Honoka. "Honoka are you okay?" She asked worriedly.

"Yes I'm fine. I'm just relieved we made it out of there." She said.

"Hey!" Naruto yelled at Honoka. "You ran away like a coward earlier!"

"Naruto!" Sakura yelled, an evil aura flowing around her. "Don't talk like that to Honoka!" She yelled super punching him. He rolled on the ground and lied on his back.

"What happened while I was out?..." He groaned.

"Honoka. Thank you." She said turning to her. "I've finally opened my eyes. And I think I've become a little stronger.

Honoka was slightly surprised at Sakura thanking her. Tears formed in her eyes.

"Thank you Sakura." She said crying. "It's nice to know you don't think I'm weak. To be honest I actually need more training."

"It's okay Honoka you fought your hardest." Asuka said.

"Even with my sharingan I wasn't able to do much. Father always said I needed to practice using it." She replied.

"Hey Honoka! Sakura come here!" Ino yelled. The two of them walked over to where Ino was standing. She handed Honoka her scarfs and began to fix Sakura's hair. The two of them glared at Honoka. "You cheater! How dare you hug Sasuke." She said.

"You're trying to get ahead of us aren't you!" Sakura said with extreme jealousy.

"Huh? What no I didn't-" Honoka was cut off.

"Don't worry. This fight isn't over. Not by a longshot." Ino said. "We're rivals until Sasuke chooses."

"Yep. So don't think we're gonna give up." Sakura replied.

"But I…" Honoka trailed off. She groaned.

 _ **~Elsewhere~**_

Akamaru lied on the ground trembling. Kiba patted his head. "Akamaru you okay?" He asked.

"He's really shaken up." Sota said.

"Akamaru." Hinata replied worryingly.

"I don't blame him for still being scared. Not after what happened back there." Kiba said.

 _~Flashback~_

The four of them jumped through the trees. They had just gotten another scroll. "What's the plan now?" Sota asked.

"The plan now is to be the first ones to the tower!" Kiba yelled excitedly.

"Don't get to ahead of yourself. We still have to make it there without being spotted." Shino replied.

~I hope nothings happened to Naruto.~ Hinata thought.

~I wonder what Hinata's thinking about. Oh what am I thinking?! I sound weird!~ Sota yelled in his mind.

"Hey wait guys!" Kiba said stopping on a branch. The three of them followed. "You said we have to be careful right? So…" He said looking at Sota.

"Uh yes?" Sota asked.

"You haven't shown us what you can do yet. You spot the enemies for us." He said.

"Okay." He replied. _Sharingan!_ He looked around and spotted six people. "There are six people up ahead."

"Alright then let's go!" He responded.

"What do you mean let's go?" He asked.

"The whole point of these exams is to come out on top. So if since we only need two scrolls, if we take more that'll knock more people out of the competition." He said going on ahead.

"Sometimes I really hate him." Shino replied. The three of them followed after him. As they arrived Akamaru began whimpering.

"What's wrong Akamaru?" Kiba asked.

"What happened? You two stopped all of a sudden." Shino said.

"Akamaru started to get scared." He said. Akamaru climbed into his jacket. "Akamaru can sniff out an enemy's chakra and sense how strong they are. But this is the first time I've seen him get this scared."

The four of them looked from behind the bushes. They were able to see Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro. Three other ninja stood a few feet in front of them.

"Kids from the Sand village challenging us straight on..is quite foolish." Said one of the ninja. Gaara stood there, his eyes full of nothingness.

"What's that small kid thinking challenging those guys?" Kiba said quietly. Akamaru whimpered again. Kiba became serious.

"What did Akamaru say?" Hinata asked.

"He said the big guy is dangerous." He replied.

~Those guys seem quite strong and dangerous.~ She thought.

"Hey kid. You she be more careful in picking your opponent's." Said another ninja. "You're all gonna die."

"Enough talk. Let's fight…" Gaara said. "Old man from from the Village Hidden in the Rain."

"Hey Gaara." Kankuro said. "Shouldn't we follow them and gather some information before we pick a fight? If they have the same scrolls as us there's no need to fight."

"It doesn't matter…" He said. "I'll kill everyone we encounter."

~This is why I don't like tagging along.~ He thought.

"Then let's do this!" The ninja yelled bringing out multiple umbrella's. He threw them up into the air. "Die kid!" _Ninpou Jurou Senbon! (Sprinkling Needles)_

Thousands of needles shot out of the umbrella's. Gaara stood there with the same blank expression. All of the needles fell down on him. A smug grin appeared on the ninja's face. But it soon went away as he realized Gaara was still alive. A sand barrier protected him from being hit.

"Is that it?..." Gaara asked.

"What? Not even a scratch." He said shocked. "That can't be!" He said firing more needles at him. His sand shield blocked them yet again.

"A rain of needles huh?...Then I'll make it rain blood." He said. Everyone stood there terrified.

"This guy's chakra is huge. And that sand has a strange smell to it." Kiba said.

"Smell?" Shino asked.

"It smells like blood." He replied.

~This guy...he's a monster. His chakra is terrifying!~ Sota thought. He began to tremble slightly. Hinata looked over at him with a worried expression.

"A wall of sand?" The ninja said.

"That's right. He controls the sand inside the gourd and hardens it with an enormous amount of chakra." Kankuro replied. "It's a technique used only by Gaara and is used to protect his body."

"Damn it!" He yelled.

"You guys can't defeat Gaara." He said.

"Don't take me lightly!" He yelled charging at him. Gaara spread his arms out and brought them together slowly.

~He's dead. That's what you get for opposing Gaara.~ Temari and Kankuro thought.

"Sand coffin!" Gaara said. Sand immediately wrapped around the ninja's entire body. The other two ninja's along with Kiba and the others watched in horror.

"L-let me go!" The ninja said. His umbrella's fell a few inches from Gaara.

"All I have to do is cover your big mouth and you'll be dead." Gaara replied picking up an umbrella. He opened it and raised it over his head. "But that would be to easy and to boring."

He raised his hand out. The guy started to float up into the air. He started to panic "Wait! Stop!" He yelled.

Gaara's expression turned deadly. His hand clenched tight into a fist. "Sand burial!"

In an instant the ninja's entire body was crushed by sand. Blood rained down. Kiba and the others were mortified by the scene. Gaara covered himself with the umbrella. The remaining two ninja were terrified. One of them pulled out the scroll and placed it on the ground.

"You can have the scroll...please let us go." He begged. Gaara tossed the umbrella aside and held his arms out. Sand wrapped around the two ninja. They shared the same fate as their friend just did.

"This isn't good! Run!" Kiba said frightened but quietly. "He'll kill us too if he finds us." The four of them left the scene instantly.

Kankuro walked over and picked up the scroll. "Alright it's the Heaven scroll. How convenient. Now need to head for the tower."

"Shut up. I haven't had enough." Gaara said.

"Look Gaara we have all the scrolls we need. You'll draw attention to all of us if you kill everyone." He said.

"I don't care. I'll kill everyone that stands in my way. Even that girl." He replied.

Kankuro got annoyed. He grabbed Gaara by the strap wrapped around his body. "Will you forget about that brat already! You're letting one kid get to you! Just listen to what your older brother tells you for once!"

"Don't order me around. I've never thought of the two of you as siblings. If you get in my way I won't hesitate to kill you." He said. He smacked Kankuro's hand away.

"Um Gaara please. Let's just head toward the tower. This is your big sister asking you." Temari said.

He held his arm out. Sand started swirling around. The cork to his gourd appeared in his hand. "Fine." He said. He plugged the hole up and started walking away. Temari sighed.

~Damn it. This is why I hate kids.~ Kankuro thought.

 _ **~Outside The Forest~**_

Yuri sat by the entrance to the forest. She looked behind her. The forest almost seemed nice when there wasn't horrific screams coming from inside. She got up and walked towards the gate. She stood there staring at it. She went to open it but her mother stopped her.

"What do you think you're doing?" She asked.

"Oh I was-" She was cut off.

"I hope you weren't thinking about going into that horrible place. Who knows what kind of monsters they have in there." She said.

"But mother I was just going to look. I wasn't going to go inside." She said.

"Need I remind you that boy with the gourd on his back is in there? And he nearly broke your wrist. Or do you not remember that?" She said. Yuri looked down at her bandaged wrist. She sighed and sat back down. Her mother went to go talk to the other Jonin.

 _ **~Elsewhere in the Forest~**_

Kiba and the others were panting heavily. All of them ran so fast they felt as though their hearts would stop. "So that's what you meant Akamaru. You should've said it faster."

The three of them wasted no time getting to the tower. The sun had gone down and it was now nighttime. "Are we the first one's here?" Sota asked.

"I felt someone's presence." Shino replied.

"Is Akamaru okay? He's been shivering ever since." Hinata said petting him.

"Oh yeah. What did Akamaru say back there?" He asked.

"He said the big guy is gonna get killed by the kid from the sand." Kiba said.

"There's no other place to go." Said a voice. "We've waited for 12 hours now." Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro walked into the room. Temari and Kankuro glanced over at them with smug looks on their faces. Kiba and the others were on edge.

 _ **~Timeskip~**_

 _(I really don't feel like putting in when they meet Kabuto and I just want to get to the exams! I know some of you want to see the exams as well!)_

The five of them had made it. Now all that's left to is to open the scrolls. Sweat trickled down the sides of their heads. Naruto and Sakura opened the scrolls up. But…

"I don't get it." He said.

"Person, Jin?" Sakura said. Smoke began to flow from the scrolls.

"This is a summoning jutsu! Let go of the scrolls now!" Sasuke said. The two of them threw the scrolls as far as they could. Smoke engulfed the scrolls. All of them got ready for a fight. Out of the smoke appeared….

"Iruka sensei!" Asuka said.


	10. Chapter 10

_***Just a heads up for oc characters I have to give then their own moves. So I'm going to be using google translate whenever I need names so bear with me if they sound long or weird. This may be a fanfiction but I'd rather not steal moves.***_

 _ **Chapter 10: Secrets Revealed! Gaara hesitates!**_

"Hello. Long time no see." Iruka said smiling at them.

"What's going on?" Honoka asked.

"It looks like the five of you went through a lot of trouble." He said.

"Wait why did you appear with a summoning technique Iruka sensei?" Naruto asked.

"We Jonin are to welcome the examinees at the end of the second exam. I happen to get all of you. You made it on time to." He said checking a watch. "Everyone..congratulations on passing the second exam."

"We...passed…" Asuka said.

"I'd like to treat you all to ramen at Ichiraku but…" He trailed off. Naruto ran and hugged Iruka.

"Yeah! I want ramen! Ramen! Ramen! Ramen!" He yelled. Asuka, Honoka, Sakura, and Sasuke all sat on the floor exhausted.

"What a relief." Honoka said.

"Ramen! Ramen! Ramen!" He yelled.

"Shut up." Sakura said.

"You're still as restless as before." Iruka said.

 _ **~Timeskip~**_

 _(Skipping to when they're getting matched up to fight one another. Going to look at old episodes makes me see how much of it was just talking!)_

"Before we begin is there anyone who would like to forfeit?" Hayato asked.

Honoka and Sakura looked at each other, then at Sasuke. He was grabbing the side of his neck. Honoka was about to raise her hand but Sasuke grabbed it. "Don't say anything about this bruise." He said.

"But Sasuke you're hurt." She said.

"I don't care. You're just being nosy. I told you before...I'm an avenger." He said.

She pulled away from him and looked down. Tears started to form in her eyes. "When did you become so cold?...I thought you'd show your remaining family kindness." She said.

Sasuke didn't say anything. Naruto got annoyed. "Hey what's the big idea Sasuke! Can't you see she's looking out for your well being?!" He said low but angrily.

"Shut up loser. You know….you're the one I want to fight the most Naruto." He said.

While they were talking a hand was raised. It was a random ninja. As he and his squad left he bumped into Naruto and Asuka. "Ow! Watch it!" Naruto yelled.

"Ow...that hurt." Asuka said.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

"One of them hit me in the stomach." She said.

"Do you need medical attention?" Hayato asked.

"No..I'll be fine." She said.

 _ **~Outside~**_

"I see your planned worked." Kabuto said. The two of the three ninja disappeared. The last one turned into smoke and Orochimaru appeared. "I don't understand why you sealed her chakra in the first place."

"You'll see soon. I didn't want her to use it earlier and waste it." He said. He turned into a cloud of smoke.

"Sending out a shadow clone. I should do that more often." He replied walking away.

 _ **~Inside~**_

Everyone stood looking at the board. The names started to shuffle at random until it stopped. "Sasuke Uchiha vs Yoroi Akado. All of the other teams may leave now." Hayato replied.

Everyone walked up the stairs and looked down. Sasuke and Yoroi took their places. Within minutes the battle begun. While the battle took place Gaara glanced over. He spotted Yuri and her mother outside. He walked down the stairs and then to the outside.

"Now Yuri stay here. I'm going to ask Iruka where the nearest restaurant is. You can watch the fight from out here." Reiya said.

"Hm. You just want to talk to Mr. Iruka because you like him." Yuri replied.

"What? No! I have no idea what you're talking about!" Her mother said blushing. "Now stay here and behave yourself." She said leaving.

"You're not fooling anyone." She said. She looked down at the ground and noticed someone standing behind her. She turned around to see Gaara. Before she could say anything he wrapped his hands around her neck and slammed her against the wall.

"You...I can finally kill you…." He said. "Tell me why….why do you look at me with those eyes of yours…"

"Be...because...you look sad." She gasped.

"What?..." He said. His gripped tightened. "Don't act like you know me!"

"I'm sorry...but I just wanted to help. I know you're not bad." She said.

"Uh." His eyes widened. He let go of her. She fell to the ground coughing. Sand swirled around him. It began to cover her.

"Why must you hurt those around you who care? I don't want to hurt you." She said staring at him. "I want to be your friend."

"...I don't need friends. I don't need anyone in my life. All I need is to see you dead!" He said.

She got up and did something so unexpected. Something Gaara never anticipated. He was so blinded by anger he didn't react fast enough. She hugged him. It took him a moment to realize what was happening. He tried to pull her off but she wouldn't let go.

His sand separated them. He held her against the wall again. Sand began covering her legs. His eyes were filled with anger. But she just stared at him. Her eyes were with sorrow and sadness. Not because she could die right now, but for him. But that's what made him angry. His sand was about to fully engulf her but it stopped.

He couldn't do it. He realized what was happening. Something he didn't know he was capable of. He hesitated. "Yuri!" Yelled Reiya.

"Lady Yuri!" Iruka yelled.

Gaara moved away. He went back inside. Yuri watched him walk away. "Mother. Mr. Iruka." She said.

"Why was that boy near you? What did he do?" She asked.

"Um...well…" She trailed off.

"What are these markings on your neck? Did he hurt you?!" She asked shaking her.

"Mother I'm fine really." She said.

"Lady Yuri. I'll have to take immediate action if he's done something." Iruka replied.

"No Mr. Iruka please don't. He'll be in serious trouble." She begged.

"How can you say that? He tried to hurt you and you're defending him?!" Reiya said.

"But mother he's just misunderstood." She replied.

"Misunderstood?! How can you possibly know him? What makes you so sure you can help him?"

"I...don't know if I can...but I want to try." She said looking down.

Reiya sighed. "I'm not sure if this is young love, a developing friendship or if my daughter is downright crazy." She said.

"A lot of things have changed since our generation." Iruka replied.

By the time Gaara had gotten back inside Sakura and Ino were matched up to fight. The fight was short and quick. A double knockout. Sakura woke up sometime later. More and more fights went on. Naruto went against Kiba and won. The next people to fight were Asuka and Yoshi. They stood facing each other down on the lower level.

"Alright you ready sis?" Yoshi asked.

"I was made ready." Asuka replied.

"Begin." Hayato said.

They started off the fight by throwing shurikens at each other. They cancelled out. "I know you're not gonna try to beat me with shurikens." Yoshi said.

"I'm not. Just warming up." Asuka said. _Sharingan!_

"Same here." _Sharingan!_ They began fighting. Surprisingly they were equally matched.

"Even though she's younger Yoshi's speed is the same as Asuka." Honoka said.

"In some cases age doesn't matter when it comes to skill. But Asuka's at a disadvantage." Maru replied.

"Huh? What do you mean?" She asked.

" _Shadow Clone Jutsu!_ " Yoshi yelled. Two shadow clones charged at Asuka. As they attacked at the same time she threw two kunais. They hit the clones. They turned into smoke, out of the smoke revealed...

~Paper bombs!~ Asuka thought. She managed to block some of the explosion but was knocked back.

"Now take a look at my new technique!" She did an unfamiliar hand sign and five clones appeared. All of them attacked Asuka. But upon impact they exploded. She could barely block it.

"What kind of jutsu is that?!" She yelled.

"I call it _Sōdaina kurōn bakuhatsu (The Magnificent Clone Explosion)_."

"I don't understand. How is that a secret technique?" Naruto asked.

"In a way you can call it a technique. How this jutsu works is the user uses their chakra to transform the paper bomb into a clone." Kakashi explained. "That chakra then amplifies the explosion. So basically depending on how strong the user is that's how strong the bomb will be."

"But shouldn't you be able to see the bomb inside?" Honoka asked.

"Only if you're a Hyuga clan member or an Uchiha. But I don't understand why Asuka can't." He said.

"Hey Kakashi, I'm go outside for some fresh air." Yuki said leaving.

"Yuki! Wait one moment I'll come with you!" Guy said.

"...Tell me how the fight goes." Kakashi said to Naruto. He left with Yuki and Guy.

The three of them stood outside. Yuki looked up at the sky. Guy and Kakashi looked at each other then at him. "So Yuki. Are you really not feeling well?" Guy asked.

"Well...no." He said.

"Alright Yuki. You've been hiding something from the very beginning. What else is there about Asuka that we don't know?" Kakashi asked.

Yuki sighed. He looked back inside the room. Asuka was dodging the clones as best as she could. One of the clones blew up in her face. He turned back to Kakashi and Guy. "Alright. I'll tell you. It was the day the Nine Tailed fox was unleashed. I was there with the fourth hokage and I was helping as best as I could."

"The fourth hokage could barely hold his own against the beast. Not to sound harsh but what could you have done?" Guy asked. While that was happening Asuka was beginning to lose.

"Come on Asuka is that all you got?" Yoshi said cocky.

~I don't understand. Why can't I avoid these dumb clones?!~ She thought.

"What's that?" Honoka asked.

Naruto looked over at her. "What's what?"

"There's a strange bottle sticking out of Yoshi's weapon pouch." She said.

"Huh?" He said looking down. "Oh yeah I see it. Hey Asuka she's got some weird bottle on her!"

"Aw man! You idiot!" Yoshi yelled. ~They saw my poison!~ Asuka took this time to appear behind her.

"Give me that!" She yelled grabbing the bottle. Yoshi took out a paper bomb and detonated it. The blast knocked Asuka back into the wall. Her head bounced hard off of it. Yoshi was blasted away.

"Hm." Hayate said looking around. Yoshi got back up. "The winner is-huh?" He said looking over. Asuka stood up. Blood slowly dripped down from her head. But what happened next shocked everyone. Kakashi, Yuki, and Guy were still talking outside.

"It seemed the Nine Tail's power was too much for Naruto's body to handle. So...in an effort to save the village…" He trailed off.

"Let me guess. You let him seal the remaining power inside of Asuka." Kakashi said.

The three of them didn't notice what was happening on the inside. Red chakra began flowing around Asuka. Yoshi was slightly afraid. Her fingernails were now claws her teeth turned into fangs and her eyes were red and filled with the intent to kill.

"Asuka….what's happened to you?..." Sota said to himself. Hinata looked over at him. She could see he was scared. With lightning speed Asuka charged at her. Yoshi couldn't react fast enough. Before she could do anything Asuka's fist connected to her face. She went flying and slammed into the wall. She slid onto the floor and fell unconscious.

"Asuka…" Honoka said shakily.

"Ugh!" Naruto said grabbing his head.

"Naruto?" She asked. "Are you okay?" His eyes were turning red. His nails began to turn into claws.

"It was the only thing I could think of. For the longest time I kept it a secret. But the third hokage found out later on." Yuki said. "The reason we left the Uchiha clan was because the power inside her came out. She nearly killed two kids."

"So what does that mean for her now?" Guy asked.

"Naruto and her are connected through the Nine Tails. In order to keep the fox stable we have to make sure those two are never together." He said.

"That's not going to be easy. They're in the same squad." Kakashi replied. He looked over. He immediately ran inside. Guy and Yuki followed.

Kurenai and Asuma restrained Asuka. She managed to break free and slash Asuma. He moved away only to get a cut on his face. He clenched his hand and punch her right in the stomach. She fell to the floor, the red chakra fading.

"Sorry kid. But you'll be feeling that later." He said.

"Is everything okay?" Yuki asked.

"Everything's fine now." Kurenai said. Asuma picked up Asuka and carried her out. Guy did the same with Yoshi.

"Ahem." Hayate said. "The winner of this match is Yoshi."

Naruto sat against the wall. His eyes changed back and his hands turned back to normal. "Aw man I'm tired."

~Something was happening to him too? I wonder why no one noticed.~ Maru thought.

Yuki walked up the stairs. Sota stared at him. "Dad….I-" He was cut off.

"The next round. Sota vs Elios." Hayate said.

"I've taken the time to train you. You better not fail." Neji said walking past Sota.

"Right." Sota replied. He jumped down to face the ninja.

"Neji you trained that guy?" Tenten asked. "How'd you manage that?"

"I humored him. I wanted to see him fail miserably. To show him that we are on two different levels." He replied.

"So what happened?" She asked again.

"I thought at first he was just copying my moves or mocking the Hyuga clan. But...there's something about him. Something I've never seen before."

"What might that be?" Lee asked.

Neji was silent for a bit. He stared down at the fight. Sota took a stance that he knew all too well. "He is able to use the 8 Trigrams."

"Honoka. Do you know why your cousin is able to use another clan's ability? Even though his form looks a bit sloppy, he's practically mastered the stance." Kakashi asked.

"No. I don't know anything." She said. Maru overheard their conversation and walked over.

"I know why." She said. She glanced over at Yuki. He stood there watching the match. She knew he wasn't going to tell them. "Our father and uncle Yuki are both Uchiha clan members. But our mom and aunt Yuki are not."

"Wait so does that mean…" Sakura trailed off.

"That means they both married a Hyuga clan member. Is that right?" Kakashi asked. Maru shook her head.

"Wait Maru I don't understand. Mom doesn't look like a Hyuga." Honoka said.

"She uses a very powerful genjutsu around us. That's why we can't see through it. The same goes for aunt Yuko." She said.

"So what you're saying is...neither of you are true Uchiha." Sasuke said.

"What? No we-" Honoka was cut off.

"Actually Sasuke this is a good thing. The Hyuga and the Uchiha are the strongest in the village. If two members were to have a child they would probably be unbeatable." Kakashi replied.

"I don't care how strong they would be together. The Uchiha is the strongest in the Hidden Leaf." He said.

Honoka held her head down sad. Maru got angry. She grabbed Sasuke by the collar. "I don't know what your deal is but can you stop acting like such a jerk for once!" She yelled.

"Hey stop it!" Sakura said trying to calm the situation.

"I don't have to listen to an outcast." He said.

"You little runt!" She said furious. She raised her fist towards him.

"No Maru please don't hit him!" Honoka begged.

"Why the hell not?!" She yelled. All of them heard a loud crash. They looked over to see that Sota had beaten Elios.

"The winner is Sota." Hayate announced. After a few more fights Hinata and Neji were matched to fight each other.

"Come on Hinata you can do it!" Naruto yelled.

"Hey Naruto." Yuki said.

"Yeah sensei?" He replied.

"I want you to give this box to Asuka. It's got medicine and some other things in it." He said handing him a large box.

"But why me?" He asked. "What about the fight?"

"Ok fine you don't have to it. There was some ramen in the box that was going to be your reward if you brought it but…" Yuki trailed off.

"Say no more I'm on it!" He yelled running down the stairs and out the door.

"Yuki." Kakashi said

"I want to see for sure if their power connects this way. If so then we'll take immediate action." He said back. Hinata's match was over in no time. She seemed to be more discourage than ever when she was fighting.

"Hinata…." Sota said. He clenched the railing and glared at Neji as he walked up the stairs. Neji brushed him off. Sota looked back down worried as the medics carried Hinata away.

"The next match. Rock Lee vs Gaara." Hayate announced.


	11. Chapter 11

_**Chapter 11: The Preliminaries completed! The New Foe!**_

Naruto ran through the infirmary. He stopped once the staff scolded him. He stopped at room 12 and opened the door. Asuma sat there reading a magazine. "Oh. Hey there Naruto." He said.

"Hey Asuma sensei!" He said happily.

"Sshh." He said.

"Huh? Oh sorry." He replied.

Asuka began moving. She opened her eyes and looked over. "Asuma sensei? Naruto?" She said. She sat up and clutched stomach.

"Hey sorry about that. Guess I overdid it." He said. "I'm gonna go find the doctor." He replied leaving the room. He found the doctor and then went outside of the building. Yuki and Kakashi stood by the door.

"So. How is she?" Kakashi asked.

"She'll be fine. One punch to the gut won't kill her." He replied.

Yuki sighed and held his head down. "She wouldn't be in here if it wasn't for me." He said. Asuma pulled out a cigarette and lit it.

"Did anything unusual happen when Naruto came?" Kakashi asked.

He inhaled and blew out smoke. "Nah. Why do you ask?"

"We'll tell you later." Yuki said. He took a cigarette out from Asuma's pack.

"You didn't seem like the type to smoke." Kakashi replied.

"I only smoke on rare occasions or when I'm stressed." He said lighting it. As they talked a group of medical ninja ran into the hospital carrying a stretcher. A few seconds later Sota ran by them.

"Sota?" Kakashi replied.

"This has been one crazy week." He said. After a while he put the cigarette out and left the hospital. Kakashi and Asuma stayed.

"What's gotten into him?" Asuma asked.

"Oh you know….family troubles." Kakashi replied.

On the inside Sota stood in front of the door. "Hinata!" He yelled.

"I'm sorry you can't be here." A doctor said.

"But-" He was cut off.

"I promise you we'll take care of her." A nurse said closing the door.

Sota held his head down. He left the hospital and went back to the exams. The exams ended after a while. Maru and Honoka won their matches. Gaara fought Lee and nearly killed him. It shocked everyone.

Lee was sent to the hospital. Gaara also went. Later that day Sota sat in his room. "Something wrong Sota?" Yuko asked.

"No. I'm okay." He said. "Actually. Mom...do you think I'm strong?"

"Of course I do. Why?" She asked.

"..No reason. Just wondering. Goodnight." He said.

"Oh...ok." She replied leaving. He got under the covers and stared at the ceiling. "Hinata…."

"Is there something wrong with Sota?" Yuko asked walking into the kitchen.

"Aren't you his mother?" Yuki asked.

"If you haven't noticed he's at that age where he doesn't tell me a lot of things." She replied.

"I don't know. He's probably got a crush or something." He said putting a teapot on the stove.

"Who's he been hanging out with again?" She asked.

"Oh...you know...Neji Hyuga." He said taking out two cups, filling them with tea.

"Neji. Hiashi's nephew." She replied.

"Yeah…" He said.

She groaned and held her head down. "I thought we saw the last of him years ago."

"We were bound to run into a Hyuga eventually. So we either face it, or lock ourselves in our house." He said pouring hot water into the cups. He placed both cups on the table.

"...How bad would that second idea be?" She asked.

~Elsewhere~

"Mom." Yuri said.

"Yes?" Reiya replied.

"I know you want to keep me safe but...why are we at Mr. Iruka's house?!" She yelled.

"Because we have nowhere else to go." She said.

"We have plenty where else!" She said.

"I'm not going anywhere else that's close to the hospital. That freaky red haired boy could be out there looking for you." She said fixing Yuri's hair.

"Mom I don't think he's gonna come out here." She said. The two of them heard a noise behind them. They screamed at the top of their lungs.

"Stay away from my daughter!" Reiya yelled holding up a lamp.

"Whoa wait a minute it's just me Iruka!" He yelled putting his hands up. "I just wanted to tell you the bath's ready."

"Oh. Well then thank you. See Yuri nothing to be scared of." She said.

"...I'm going in the bath." Yuri replied leaving the room. She looked out the window. The hospital wasn't that far away. She closed the window and locked it.

~The next day~

Sota woke up feeling awful. He got dressed and walked downstairs to see Maru and Honoka eating breakfast. "Morning Cousin." Maru said.

"Hey. I'm going out." He said leaving.

"What's up with him?" She asked.

"I don't know. I hope he'll be okay." Honoka replied.

"Hey did you hear?" She asked. "Some princess is suppose to be at the Chunin Exams."

"Why would a princess be here?" She replied.

"Something about trading resources. But why wouldn't the hokage just ask the sand village?..."

~Hospital~

Asuka stared at the ceiling bored out of her mind. She sat up and looked out the window. "I hate being in the hospital." There was a sudden knock at the door. "Come in."

The door opened. A short boy walked in. He had spiky red hair and wore a beige vest over a brown short sleeved shirt. A brown handkerchief is tied around his waist and he's wearing gray shorts. A hidden sand village headband hung around his neck. His eyes were the same as Asuka's.

"You look miserable." He said.

"Kazuki? What are you doing here?" She asked.

He handed her a box. "Kozaru and I came to watch Maru and Honoka." He said. Kazuki is Maru and Honoka's younger brother. Kozaru is their older brother. He's the oldest out of the four. Kazuki is the youngest.

Asuka took the box and opened it. Inside was just some cookies. "Thanks." She said.

"Mom made them. She said to share them with everyone. I'll get you some water." He said leaving.

She sat there eating the cookies. Within a minute a doctor walked in. "Hello. Ms. Higurashi?" He said. She looked over at him. He had semi long purple hair that hung over the left side of his face and dark green eyes. He was pretty young to be a doctor.

"Yes?" Asuka said.

"I've just come to do a routine check up." He said. He went over to a drawer and pulled out a needle. "But before I give you this I need to check your vitals." He said. After taking the usual measurements he picked up the needle and walked over to a cabinet.

"What exactly are you giving me?" She asked.

Oh just the usual." He said injecting it.

"The usual what?" She asked again.

"The usual...general anesthesia." He said, a eerie smile appearing on his face.

"What? Ane-" She was cut off as she started to feel weary. She fell back onto the pillow.

"Sweet dreams Asuka." He said.

She soon felt the darkness over her. She woke up later to Kazuki calling her name. "Asuka! Asuka!" He yelled.

"...Uh..huh? Kazuki?" She said.

"What happened? Are you okay?" He asked.

"Ugh…" She groaned grabbing her head. "That doctor...he drugged me."

"Doctor? What doctor?" He asked.

"The young doctor that was in here." She said.

"I didn't see anyone leave the room. When I walked in here you were sprawled out on the bed." He replied.

"If he wasn't a doctor then…." She said looking down shocked.

~On the roof of the hospital~

"My plan has now begun. It'll take some time but it will all be worth it. What say you? Kabuto Yakushi." Said the doctor.

Kabuto appeared next to him on the roof. "I'd say you're pretty brave. Going into the same room as the nine tails." He said.

"The girl has only some of the fox's power. But that doesn't mean she still isn't powerful." He said holding up a vial containing a light blue liquid.

"What's that?" He asked.

"Something that will come in handy. And I know the perfect people to give it to." He said.

"Hmp. Can't wait to see how your plan turns out doctor." He said. He looked over at his name tag. "Hanazaki Hanzaki? Really that's your name?"

"Nothing wrong with making one up. Besides it's not my real name." He said. He put the vial in his inside pocket and walked down from the roof.

He walked through the hallway and saw Sota standing in front of a room. He walked over to him. "Oh. Hello doctor." Sota said.

"Hello. I see you're worried about your friend." He said.

"Yeah. I hope she'll be okay." He said. As he stood in front of the door he noticed Hinata waking up. She looked over at him and started to mouth something. "Huh? Be...hind yo-" He was cut off.

Hanzaki stuck a needle into his neck and injected him with something. Sota hit the floor immediately. He took the vial out and poured it down his throat. "I didn't plan for you to wake up Ms. Hinata."

"S...Sota." She said weakly.

"Don't worry. This will only take a second." He said pulling out another vial, a creepy smile appearing on his face.


	12. Chapter 12

_**Chapter 12: The Second Exams! The Toad Sage Jiraiya!**_

"Uh! Hinata!" Sota yelled sitting up. He looked around and saw he was in a hospital bed. The door opened and a nurse walked in.

"I see you're awake. We found you passed out in the hallway." She said giving him water.

"Is Hinata okay?" He asked.

"Hm? Oh your friend is fine. She's sleeping now." She said. She left the room after a while.

He looked over out the window and touched his neck. The only thing there was a puncture mark. Suddenly the door opened. A older looking boy and a man walked in. The boy had semi long orange hair and the Hidden Sand Village attire. The man had blonde hair and also wore Hidden sand Village attire.

"Hey cousin." The boy said.

"Kozaru. Uncle Taka. How'd you guys know I was here?" Sota asked.

Kozaru is the older brother of Maru, Honoka, and Kazuki. Taka is Yuki's brother. "While we were heading to visit the third Hokage we saw Asuka being brought in here. " Taka said.

"And we saw you follow some girl in here too. So we just kinda stood back and watched." Kozaru replied.

"Wait did you guys see that doctor?" Sota asked.

"The only thing we saw was a nurse and two other doctors bringing you in here." He said.

"Whoever he was...he did something to me." He said touching his neck again.

"Well are you feeling better now?" Taka asked.

"Yeah." He replied.

"Alright then. Let's head on back to your house. You, Asuka and Yoshi take a break. We'll go out shopping and make a big dinner for everyone. It'll get your mind off of this and bring everyone together." He said.

"Okay. I'll go get them then." He said leaving the bed.

~Asuka's House~

Yuki walked into the house. Yuko stood cleaning up. "Everything is just unraveling isn't it?" Yuko said.

"Yep. I think by the end of the day all of us are gonna be frustrated." Yuki replied.

Outside Asuka, Sota and Yoshi walked up to the door. Maru, Honoka, Kozaru and Kazuki went out with Taka.

"I can't wait for uncle Taka to come back. It's been awhile since we had a family dinner." Asuka said.

"Yeah. I've missed spending time with everyone." Yoshi said.

As Asuka reached for the door handle she heard Yuki and Yuko talking on the other side. "I can't tell them yet. They won't be able to handle it." Yuki said.

"But you can't keep it from them forever." Yuko replied.

Asuka opened the door immediately. The three of them stood there. Yuki sighed because he knew what was about to happen. "Keep what from us?" Asuka asked.

"Um…..Taka is adopted." He said.

"What?!" Yoshi, Sota, and Asuka yelled.

"Wait what?" Yuko said. "He is? Does he know?"

"Yes he is. And no he doesn't and I wanna keep it that way." He said.

"Dad we heard you and mom talking. What is it that you don't want us to know? Does it involve the Uchiha clan?" Sota said.

"Guys...we'll-" Yoshi cut him off.

"We want to know the truth. Not we'll talk about it later. You always say that." She said.

"That's enough! We never wanted either of you to find out this way!" He yelled.

"You never wanted-what about what we want?! I'm sick of you hiding things!" Asuka yelled.

"I'm doing it for your own good! For all of you!" He yelled back.

"You're not doing anything for either of us!" She said.

"It doesn't concern either of you. I will have this discussion when you're older." He said.

"Yes it does. Why am I able to learn the Byakugan? If I'm an Uchiha I shouldn't be able to. What is it that you aren't telling us?!" Sota yelled.

"All of you please just calm down." Yuko said.

"No mom. This has to happen. We need to know. What's wrong with us? Why did we have to leave the village!" Yoshi said.

"You wanna know why?! It's because you are a disgrace to the clan! All of you are!" He yelled.

"Yuki!" Yuko yelled. The three of them stood there crushed. All of them became teary eyed and ran away. Yuki held his head down. "Why? Why is this happening now?" She started to cry softly.

"Because of my mistakes. That's why this is happening." He said.

Taka stood in the back of the house. Honoka, Maru, Kozaru, and Kazuki were there too. They heard the commotion inside and were silent for sometime. "Dad?" Honoka said.

"...Come on guys. Let's go inside." He said.

"But Asuka, Yoshi and Sota." Kazuki said.

"Don't worry. They'll come back home soon." He said. They went went inside to even more silence.

Asuka ran through the village, tears in her eyes. As she ran faster she bumped into someone. She caught herself before she hit the ground. She looked to see the person who she ran into was Naruto.

"Hey Asuka." He said. "Huh? What's wrong?"

"Nothing." She said turning away from him.

"Are you sure? You look like you're crying." He said trying to look at her face.

"I'm fine!" She yelled.

"Sorry!" He said.

"..I'm sorry Naruto." She sobbing.

"Hey. Asuka." He said. He left for a moment and then came back. "Asuka, look."

"Huh?" She opened her eyes to see him holding a bag full of candy.

"Ramen always cheers me up. So I figured something sweet would make you happy." He said with a wide smile.

"Naruto." She said. She started crying again.

"Uh! Do you not like candy? I can go find something else." He said. She moved closer and hugged him. His face turned a slight red.

"No. It's okay." She said crying on him.

"You know if you keep hanging on me people might get the wrong idea." He said rubbing the back of his head.

Her eyes shot open as she realized what was happening. She moved away immediately. They both walked through the village. "So your dad called you a what?" He asked.

"A disgrace to our clan." She said.

"Man your dad sounds like a real jerk." He said putting his hands behind his head.

"He's not. It's just he has a lot of pride as an Uchiha. And leaving the clan was really hard for him." She said.

"You shouldn't make excuses for him! No parent should talk down to their child that way." He said.

"...Yeah. You're right." She said.

The two of them walked until the sun began going down. They were actually pretty far in the village.

"I guess we should head back." She replied. Just as they turned around they saw a man sitting in front of the women's bathhouse. "Huh? Hey perv what do you think you're doing?!" She yelled.

He still sat there. "Guess he didn't hear you." Naruto said.

"Oh he'll hear me!" She yelled. She performed quick hands signs and used the fireball jutsu.

Within seconds the man disappeared before it hit him. Out of nowhere a giant tongue smacked the two of them onto the ground. As they got up the man sat on top of a giant frog. He has a wart on the left side of his nose and waist-length, spiky white hair tied back into a ponytail, with two shoulder-length bangs framing his face and red lines under his eyes. He wore a green short shirt kimono and matching pants.

"Okay frog man what was that all about?! Who do you think you are anyway?!" Naruto yelled.

"I'm glad you asked!" He yelled flipping his long hair back. "I'm the hermit of Mount Myōboku! The wise and immortal spirit! That's right it is I the toad mountain sage!"

"Toad sage?" Asuka and Naruto both said.

"Exactly." He replied. The frog turned into smoke underneath him.

"Well pervy sage what's the big idea?! You could've killed us!" Naruto yelled.

"Well you two shouldn't have interfered with my research." He said.

"Your research?" Asuka asked.

"You see...I'm a novelist. I am a writer of great books. Like this!" He said holding up the book make-out paradise.

The two of them recognized immediately that it was the same book Kakashi sensei is always reading. "You wrote that?!" They both yelled.

"Yes! I see you two know it!" He said. He laughed to himself slightly. ~I'm famous and it's not even on paperback yet.~ He thought.

"You call that pervy trash a novel?! Research yeah right! Just another excuse for you to peek at girls in the bathhouse!" Naruto yelled. All of the women in the bathhouse ran out screaming.

"AAAAHHHH! Look at what you've done! You've ruined my peeking! I mean my research!" He yelled.

"Dirty old man." Asuka said.

"You little-there's nothing dirty about it! I happen to be a serious artist who's inspired by youth and beauty that's all! And-" He was cut off.

"Yeah whatever. Like anyone's gonna believe that." She said. "And how'd you disintegrate my fireball?"

"Hm? Fireball? You mean that flame technique you have barely mastered?" He asked.

"Huh? You can do it? Teach me!" She said.

"Yeah teach both of us! You at least owe us that!" Naruto yelled.

"Hmp. Run along kids I'm busy." He said walking by them.

They both growled as he walked past. "Hey wait come back here you pervy sage!" Naruto yelled. "You've gotta train us!"

"Not on your life!" He yelled turning around. "I can't work with someone who has no respect for a true artist!"

~He's seriously upset about that?!~ Asuka thought.

"Besides I don't like kids." He said.

"Uh...but I thought your book make-out paradise was really well written. And...interesting." She said.

"Liar. The purchase of a reading of that book is prohibited for anyone under the age of 18." He said.

"Oh yeah but the reviews I read were really great." Naruto said.

"Do you really think that's going to work on me? What do you take me for an idiot? I'm a goddamn sage!" He yelled jumping back onto the handle of the bridge. "Save your breath kids you can't butter me up."

He began to use a technique. A strong gust of wind began blowing around him. "Okay you're right sorry!" Asuka yelled. The two of them ran towards him only to get blown back by the wind.

"Ha ha ha ha! So long and good luck!" He yelled jumping over a building.

"Whoa….that was awesome! We gotta learn from him now!" Naruto said. They both left to go look for him.

They headed back through the village. "Hey! Toad sage! Where are you?!" Asuka called.

"Pervy sage!" Naruto yelled. "Where'd he disappear to?"

A woman's scream could be heard inside of a restaurant. "No no! Wait" Yelled the Toad sage. A loud smack was heard following a huge thud.

"What do you think you're doing you disgusting old man?!" Yelled a woman. Naruto and Asuka stopped in front of the restaurant.

The woman walked out looking angry. The toad sage followed. "I'm sorry but you have such a beautiful pair of soft and lovely uh...hands. You really do have beautiful hands. How do you keep them so soft?" He asked.

"Filthy beast!" She yelled before slapping him again. He yelled in pain.

"So much for soft hands sheesh.." He said. Two big red marks were on both sides of his face.

"Naruto..." Asuka said.

"Yeah?" He answered.

"What were we thinking? He's really pathetic." She said.

"No doubt about it. But it's not like we have much choice." He said. They both walked over to him.

"Hm. Looks like the women in this town are no friendlier than before. Still I like em feisty."

He said chuckling to himself.

"So. You've been here before huh?" Asuka asked.

"Huh?" He said turning around. "You two again?"

"I'm surprised they don't make you wear a leash! You old pervert!" Naruto yelled.

"Sshh! You know I wish you wouldn't use the word pervert." He said.

"Okay then how about stalker! Peeping tom! Old geezer!" Asuka yelled.

"You're nothing but a joke!" Naruto yelled. "A good for nothing joke!"

"Oh put a lid on it will ya." The toad sage said picking the both of them up. He threw Naruto into one jar and Asuka into another and placed her on top of the other. He then placed a big rock on top of hers. "There ya go kids. You can train in there for a while." He said walking off laughing.

"Hey! You can do this to us!" Asuka yelled.

"Let us out of here you old coon!" Naruto yelled.

The toad sage stopped in the woods and sat in front of a fallen tree smoking. "What'd I do for just a few minutes alone with a young pretty girl." He said to himself. He looked up at the sky. Envisioning the clouds as women.

Shuriken came flying towards him. He ducked for cover behind the tree. "You can't get away that easily!" Naruto yelled. They looked behind the log only to see an animal.

"A substitution jutsu. He's smarter than I thought." Asuka said. They ran into a different part of the woods.

The animal turned into smoke and the toad sage sat up. "That was close. Annoying little squirts. They'll have to be a lot smarter than that to outfox the toad mountain sage." He said.

The two of them popped up from the other side of the tree. "Oh yeah how are we doing now?" Naruto said.

He gave up and just decided to sit and talk with them. "Okay I'll admit it. You guys aren't totally without talent."

"So does that mean you'll show me how to use the fireball jutsu better?" Asuka asked.

"Yeah and can you train me too?" Naruto also asked.

"Not so fast squirts. I'll give you two what you want but in return you'll have to give me what I want." He said standing.

"So what do you want?" Asuka asked.

"You must know by now. I like em ripe and luscious with curves like that see?" He said moving his arms in a curving motion. "And big but not to big you know what I mean? If you bring me something like that I will train you till the cows come home!"

"Really?" They both said standing up.

"The toad mountain sage never lies." He said.

"Okay. Wait here!" Naruto yelled. They both left immediately.

The toad sage looked over and noticed two women walking. "Sorry kids it's not like we had a contract or anything. Oh ladies can you show me the way to town?" He said going after them. A little while later he was laughing and having a conversation with them in a restaurant.

"Hey pervy sage!" Naruto yelled. "We're back!"

"What?" One of the ladies said laughing.

"Did he call you pervy?" The other said laughing as well.

"Worthless little runt!" He said. "I told you not to call me that!"

"Look we got it. Just how you like them. A ripe and luscious one with curves." He said holding a watermelon.

"That's not what I meant you fools!" He yelled holding a butcher knife. He sliced the watermelon in half and then into smaller pieces.

"Cool!" Asuka said.

"Wow! Talk about ripe and juicy!" He said.

"Dig in. We might as well not let it go to waste." The toad sage said. He looked over at where the women were sitting. "The ladies! What happened to the ladies?!"

Naruto let out a loud burp as he patted his stomach. "Man that was the best."

"Naruto you're so gross...but yeah it was." Asuka replied.

"...struck out again." The toad sage said looking sad. "Now I must be off I've wasted to much time already." He said walking away.

"Hey wait a minute!" She said. They both got in front of him. "Where are you going we had a deal!"

"I don't give a flying fish about your dumb fireball! I have my research to conduct!" He yelled waving his hands around.

"Research my butt. It's not like I don't have better things to do than to hang around a pervy old man like you." Naruto said pointing at him. I'm gonna train until I'm stronger than anyone cause I'm gonna pass the chunin exams. And then someday I'm gonna be hokage."

"Ha. That's a good one. Tell me did you fall on your head when you were a baby is that what makes you this way? Now I know you're wasting my time." He said. "But maybe I could change my mind."

"How?" Asuka asked.

"I need you to go and get me something." He said.

"Me? Like what?" She asked.

"Go get this. It's a special tea brewed in a very specific part of the village. Bring me that and maybe I'll change my mind." He said handing her a piece of paper.

"Hm...okay." She said sounding suspicious. She soon left the two of them standing there.

"Alright you little nuisance I need to get on with my research! And for that I need a lovely lady. No fruits no vegetables but a lady! And I can't do that with a little girl hanging around let alone a boy." He said.

"A lady? Well if that's what you wanted why didn't you just say so? No problem." He said cracking his knuckles. He used a hand sign and a cloud a smoke appeared around him. Instantly he turned into a girl version of himself.

"So...lovely. We got a winner! A perfect ten!" He yelled holding up two signs.

~...Ugh. Pathetic.~ Naruto thought to himself. He glanced over and was hit by a giant rock. "Agh!" He yelled crashing into a wall. He transformed back to his regular self.

The toad sage was then hit with another giant rock. "Ow! What on earth-" He was cut off.

"You big liar! Getting you that tea was a distraction so you could be a pervert!" Asuka yelled pointing at him. "And Naruto you transformed into a naked girl on top of that! Don't either of you have any respect for women?!"

"We're sorry…." They both said.

The next day they all went to the river and sat down. "Okay we're gonna pretend like none of that happened. Now let's begin your training." The toad sage said.

"And you really mean it this time?" Naruto asked.

"A sage always means what he says. Now go ahead and show me that technique. And you show me yours." He said to the both of them.

They got up and stood by the river. Naruto concentrated his chakra and began to take baby steps onto the water. Asuka went into Sharingan and started to perform handsigns.

(Okay I'm gonna put the rest of their training in a different chapter. Because this is a lot of writing.)

~Timeskip~

The finals have begun. There's only one match left and that's Sasuke's and Gaara's. There's some time until it begins so everyone's relaxing. Well...almost everyone.

"Mom I don't want to do this." Yuri replied.

"Yuri you were asked here by the Hokage himself. You have to call the final match. Now stay here while I go find your hair ribbon." Reiya said leaving the room. Yuri sighed and stared at herself in the mirror. She noticed the door wasn't closed all the way. She looked outside. No one was out there. She turned back around and noticed sand on the floor.

"...Nope." She said leaving the room. She turned the corner and bumped into someone. "Oh I'm sorry." The person she bumped into was Kankuro.

"Hey you're the brat that got into Gaara's head." He said. "I don't know what you did but Gaara's been acting crazier than usual."

"Huh?" She said.

"Don't huh me stupid. Because of what you did I have to deal with Gaara more and more now." He said. He grabbed her and threw her against the wall.

"I….I was only trying to help him." She said.

"The only thing that you were doing was sticking your nose in somewhere it doesn't belong." He said. He raised his hand to her. She shut her eyes tightly but nothing came. She opened them to see Reiya standing there holding Kankuro's ear.

"Young man I would advise you to unhand my daughter. Honestly what is wrong with the youth of today." She said pulling his ear.

"Ow!" He said dropping Yuri. "Why you-" He was cut off as Gaara appeared down the hall. Yuri and Reiya didn't notice him. She took Yuri's hand and left Kankuro standing there.

"Mom. Did I do something wrong?" She asked.

"I can't tell you the answer to that. You did what you thought was right. Everyone isn't going to agree with the decisions you make. You're royalty and you should hold your head up high." Reiya replied.

After a while the match started. Nothing exciting happened until Gaara placed himself into a giant sand sphere. Sasuke tried to break through it but none of his regular attacks were working. So he decided to try out his new technique. Using the chidori he managed to break through the sand. But then the events turned from bad to worse. As he removed his arm a giant sand arm came out with it. The ninja prepared themselves for an intense battle.

(A battle that I am not going to write in because we all know it. And this story is not about Naruto it's about everyone! If anyone wants the battle then I will put it in a extra chapter or something. But for now let's get on with the story because I can't wait to show you guys what's coming up.)

It's been a few weeks since the death of the Third Hokage. The village is still in mourning. Konohamaru is the one who's the most upset. People try to adjust back to their everyday lives. But sadly it's easier said than done. Asuka, Sota and Yoshi still weren't talking to Yuki and Yuko.

~Elsewhere~

Because of the events that happened with the Third Hokage, Yuri and her mother have yet to leave the village. "Mom?" Yuri asked.

"Hm? What is it?" Reiya asked.

"When are we going to go home?" She asked.

"...I can't say. With everything that's happened the village is just doing it's job to protect us." She said.

"Lady Yuri." Said a ninja. He handed her a letter and soon left.

"You got mail? We don't live here." Reiya replied.

"It's from the Hidden Sand Village." Yuri said opening it. "There's only one word...Sorry."

"Sorry? Who's sorry and for what?" She asked. Yuri just stared at the letter. "Well who's s….oh no." She said.

At that moment Iruka walked in. "Lady Yuri, Ms. Reiya I was wondering if-" He cut himself off because of the scene that was happening.

"Give me the letter!" Reiya yelled trying to grab the paper.

"No! Mom stop!" Yuri yelled back.

"Never! It's from that boy isn't it?! Give it here!" She yelled.

"So what if it is?! It's just a letter!" She pleaded.

"I'll...come back later." Iruka said shutting the door.


	13. Chapter 13

_**Chapter 13: Heartbreaking Truth! Sibling Battle**_

 **(This is the last chapter of the first part. The next chapters from here will take place in Shippuden)**

It's been 2 weeks since the argument. Words are just barely being exchanged between all of them. Yuki sat at the table early in the morning drinking coffee. The sound of footsteps filled the room as Kozaru walked in. "Morning uncle Yuki." He said.

"Hey." He said. "Where are you going this early?"

"Oh I'm just going for a run." He replied.

"...Kozaru. You're not mad are you?" He asked.

"...I don't know. I'll have to think on that." He said. He put his shoes on and left. Yuki looked up at the doorway to see Taka standing there.

"What? You gonna yell at me too?" He asked.

"No. I don't really know what to do. You know since we're not really brothers." Taka replied going over to the coffee maker.

"Taka I was going to tell you." He said.

"When Yuki?" He said slightly angry. "You've been keeping too many secrets from us. And then you sit there and feel sorry for yourself. What about us? You called your own flesh and blood disgraces." He said turning around to face him.

He sighed and stared at his mug. He swirled it around before drinking the rest. "It was 20 years ago. You had gone out with mom on a mission. And out of the blue dad had said you and I weren't really related. He told me to wait to tell you." He said.

"20 years? He wanted you to wait that long?" He said.

"No. But I couldn't tell you. Fugaku was like family to me. We both shared the same pride. But I fell in love with Yuko. And you fell in love with Mikan. I knew what would happen once Asuka was born. He never looked at me the same way again." He said looking down.

Taka sighed and sat down at the table. "Okay. This time it's time for me to tell you something I've been hiding." He said. "Yes Fugaku was upset about everything but he was still happy for you."

"...You're lying. He had more pride than anyone to admit that." He replied.

"I know. I overheard him talking about it with Mikoto. He said that he couldn't believe you married out of the clan. But he was happy because you were happy." He said.

"...Wow. That makes me feel better." He said.

"I think you need to apologize to your kids. Do it tonight at dinner." He said.

"Right. I will." He replied.

After their long talk they went out into the village. A little while later everyone was outside. They were all hanging around friends and family members trying to forget the events that happened a few weeks earlier, including the passing of the Hokage. In the meantime the Jonin were busy looking for a replacement. Sota walked over to the training field. He began practicing his kunai throw in an effort to forget everything. But not to long after something ran past him. He looked around, nothing. He turned back around only to come face to face with a mysterious ninja. He jumped back ready to fight. The ninja wore all black clothing including a mask that covered his face.

"Sota Uchiha." He said in a low voice.

"Who wants to know?" He replied. The sharingan forming in his eyes. The man threw a file at him. Multiple papers flew out. "What is this?"

"Everything you need to know that happened that day you're sister was given the ninetails. Including the day you left the village." He responded. He turned around and began to walk away.

"Hey wait! I already know everything." He said.

"Do you?" He replied before disappearing.

He stared down at the papers. Was he really sure Yuki had told him the entire truth? He picked the papers up and read them over. He couldn't believe what they said. Anger rose up inside of him. He left the forest and headed back to the village.

In the village Maru walked with Honoka. "Alright so Aunt Yuko needs beef, green onions, leeks, carrots, and some other stuff." Maru said.

"Maru. I don't want to leave the village." Honoka said. "Asuka and the others look like they could really use our company."

"I know but like dad told us. This is their problem. Besides mom misses us." She said. They stopped in the middle of the street. "Alright I'll take this half of the list you take the other."

"Right." She said. She wrote down her half and went off in another direction.

"Okay let's see…" She said walking. The sound of whimpering broke her focus. She looked over to see where the source of it was coming from. It was Akamaru. He was stuck under some barrels. "Oh. Your Kiba's dog. How'd you get stuck under here?...Well it has nothing to do with me." She got up and began to walk away.

"Woof!" He barked and whimpered.

"...No Maru. You don't even like dogs. Don't do it…." She said to herself. She walked over and lifted him out. He licked her face all over. "Okay that's enough...I know you're welcome."

"Akamaru!" Kiba yelled from far away.

"Oh hey he's looking for you." She said. Akamaru whimpered again. She glanced down and noticed his leg was injured. "How'd that happen?...Was someone chasing you?"

"Akamaru!" Kiba yelled going over to them. "Akamaru are you okay? Hey you're Asuka's cousin."

"I have a name. It's Maru." She said.

"Maru…" he said. He laughed a little. "Akamaru and Maru. Maybe I should just call you Akamaru 2."

A huge crash could be heard throughout the village. The villagers looked over to see Kiba in the ground. She put her fan over her back and walked away. "Let's go Akamaru. I'll take you to see a doctor."

"Hey….can't you take a joke?..." He groaned.

Honoka had gotten everything she needed already. Which was actually a lot of stuff. "Okay now I just need to get home…..this may take a while." She said. As she went to leave a familiar face stood in front of her. "Sasuke?"

"Don't get the wrong idea. Your aunt asked me to come help you." He said.

"Oh aunt Yuko did? Thank you." She said. He took most of the bags and they began walking back to the house. "(I guess he's still mad about the whole thing. But come on I didn't know either.)" She thought.

After everything that happened Taka told them the truth about how he married outside of the family as well. She looked down at the ground. She was hoping that maybe Sasuke was going to open just a little. But they're back to square one. She just had to face facts. That happy little boy was gone. All that was left was an angry spirit bent on revenge.

"Do you see them?" Said a voice. It was Ino. She and Sakura hid behind a building.

"Yeah. They're not too far ahead." Sakura replied.

"Honoka...how dare she walk with Sasuke! And she's having him hold her bags like they're a couple!" She said clenching her fists.

"We have to do something." She said. They jumped from building to building until they were ahead. They hid up on the roof of a building that wasn't too far from Asuka's house. "Look at her down there."

"It's so on." Ino replied leaving. Sakura followed after. Sasuke and Honoka arrived back at Asuka's house. They went inside and placed the bags on the table. Now that they were officially alone silence filled the room like smoke.

"If that's all you need then I'm going." Sasuke replied. He turned to leave but Honoka grabbed his sleeve. He looked back at her. She held her head down afraid to look him in the eye.

"Sasuke. I know you're upset but...I just want you to know. I didn't know anything about my family. I never knew I was part Hyuga. If I did I promise that I would've told you." She replied still staring at the ground.

"Honoka." He said. She looked up at him. She felt a quick pain as he poked her forehead with two fingers. "You're so annoying." After that response he turned and left the house. She stood there shocked.

"Wow...didn't know flicking foreheads was how to win a girl's heart." Kazuki replied.

"K-Kazuki! How much did you hear?" She asked.

"Oh how about…I never knew I was part Hyuga. If I did I promise I would tell you." He replied mimicking her voice. She placed her head in her hands, her face as red as a tomato.

"That's so embarrassing…." She responded sliding to the floor.

"But you know...Yuki is hiding something." He replied.

"There's more?" She asked.

"I'm sure of it. But it's something that'll top everything." He said.

He sat down at the table and looked out the window. The birds were chirping and flying high in the sky. The villagers walked around smiling. He glanced back down at the table. Yuki's coffee mug from earlier sat there. The inside of the glass was stained and discolored from multiple uses. He picked it up and placed it in the sink.

"I just hope whatever it is….it's not too bad." She replied wrapping her arms around her knees. "And if it is...I hope he'll tell us himself."

Kozaru walked through the village. After his morning run he didn't feel like going back to the house. Now that it was the afternoon pretty much every store was crowded. The events of everything that had happened with Yuki over the past few weeks replayed in his mind. He was so lost in thought that he walked right into someone. "Hey watch it." He replied.

"Hey you bump into a girl and that's all you can say?" She said annoyed. The girl has black hair and brown eyes. Her hair is in two Chinese-style buns on her head with short fringe-bangs framing her face. And she wears a pink sleeveless qipao-style blouse with red sleeve trimmings and yellow fastening buttons and dark green pants.

~I bumped into a cute girl this time.~ He thought.

"Hey are you deaf and blind?" She asked waving her hand in his face.

~Who's got a really bad attitude.~ He thought. He cleared his throat. "No I'm neither blind or dead. I'm sorry."

"Well that's more like it." She replied. Her attitude seemed to brighten up more after his apology. She looked up at his headband. "You're from the Hidden Sand Village."

"Huh? Oh yeah. My name is Kozaru." He said.

"I'm Tenten. It's nice to meet you after you've been polite." She said.

"The same could be said to you." He said quietly.

"Huh? What was that?" She asked. Before she could say anything else he walked away. "Hey! We're not done here!" She yelled going after him.

Meanwhile Hanzaki walked through the streets of the village. He looked over to see Hinata hiding. She was watching Naruto. He crept up behind her. "What are you looking at?"

"Ah!" She yelled somewhat loudly. "I'm sorry for that."

"Aw. You apologizing almost makes me feel bad for doing this. Almost." He said.

"Huh?"

"Nothing oh nothing. This doesn't exactly count as bird watching." He replied looking out towards Naruto.

"Oh um I-" She said embarrassed.

"But who's that girl coming up to him?" He asked. She looked over to see Asuka walking over to Naruto. They talking. "Does it bother you to see him with her?"

"Huh? No not really. They're just talking." She said.

"Well yeah I see that but look at her. She's so close to him."

"Actually she's not really that close. Naruto and Asuka are just friends. There's no problem with two friends talking." She replied.

"...Oh my god you're so kind it's sickening." He said. "Ahem let me rephrase. Have you ever gotten the courage to talk to Naruto?"

Her expression went from calm to sadness. "No...I haven't." She said sadly.

"Well look over there." He said pointing. She looked back over at the two. "She has no problem talking to him. Yet you can't even bring yourself to say hello."

She stared at the ground. Her hands clutched the ends of her sleeves. "I...I can do it." She responded softly.

"Then go ahead. Go up and say hi." He said turning her towards them. No matter how hard she tried her feet wouldn't budge. "See...you can't. Even if you said anything he'd still think of you as the weird girl who faints around him."

His words swirled around in her head. She wanted to badly to move and say something. She stared as the two of them began to walk away. The entire world around them turned black. The only thing she could focus on was the two of them. "N-Naruto. Wait." She said.

"You despise Asuka don't you?" He whispered in her ear.

"What? No I don't." She replied.

"Yes you do. It's faint but I can tell deep down you hate how close she is to him." He said.

"...No…..no!" She yelled running away.

He disappeared as Naruto and Asuka turned around. "Was that Hinata?" She asked.

~No! No! It's not true! I could never hate anyone!~ She thought in her head. As she turned a corner she bumped into someone and fell back.

"Hinata?" Sota said catching her. "What's wrong?"

"I...I…" She tried to find the words but nothing would come out. He felt her go motionless in his arms.

"Hinata! Hey!" He lifted her up and carried her all the way to the hospital. After setting her down in bed he sat down next to her. "What happened?..." He said to himself.

He glanced down at the folder he was still holding on to. He had almost forgotten as to why he had them. He left the immediately and headed back to the house. Weeks went by since that day. Sota had yet to confront Yuki about this newly found secret. Hinata was being haunted by Hanzaki's words. Naruto and Asuka continued to train and get stronger under Jiraiya's teachings. Everything seemed to be going well, that is until one unforgettable night.

"Sota!" Yoshi yelled kicking open the door.

"What?!" He responded falling off his bed.

"Time for dinner." She replied leaving. He groaned and looked over at his dresser. The folder was hidden inside of it. He soon followed after. All four of them sat down eating.

"So Asuka how has your training been?" Yuko asked.

"Fine. Jiraiya taught Naruto and I the rasengan." Asuka replied.

"I don't know how I feel about you training with him." Yuki said.

"Jiraiya's trustworthy with us." She said.

"I meant Naruto." He replied taking a sip of tea.

"Hey dad. I have a question." Sota said.

"Hm?"

"Do you know a woman named Hisae Hyuga?" He asked.

A loud crash was heard after that was said. Asuka, Yoshi and Yuko looked over at Yuki. He had dropped his glass, a shocked look had appeared on his face. He sat unmoving and speechless. The three of them looked back at Sota.

"How do you know that name?" He asked.

"It doesn't matter how I know dad. Do you know her?" He asked again.

"Yuki what is now? What is he talking about?" Yuko asked.

"Don't pretend like you don't know either mom. Both of you are lying." He said.

"Uh." She was speechless.

"...Mom?" Yoshi said. Yuko held her head down and said nothing.

"Tell them dad. Tell them about how mom isn't my real mom! That you took me from my real mother!" Sota yelled.

"What!?" Yoshi and Asuka yelled in surprise. They stared at their parents. They sat there in utter silence. It was too much for Sota to take any longer.

"You can't even say anything….I hate the both you!" He yelled running out of the house.

"Sota. Come back!" Yuki called after him.

The four of them left the house searching for him. He ran as far as he could from the house, tears flowing down his face. He stopped and just let his emotions run out. Anger and sadness had become mixed together. He cried so hard it felt as though his ribs would crack.

"Sota?" Said a familiar voice.

He looked over to see Hinata. "Hinata." He replied. Surprisingly he had stopped in front of the Hyuga residence. She walked over him with a worried expression. "How long have you been standing there?"

"Um...ever since you stopped here." She said.

"Oh…" He said quietly.

His face turned a bright red in embarrassment. He wanted to crawl into a hole. He glanced down as she held out her hand. A handkerchief was folded neatly in her palm. He edged his hand towards hers ever so slightly, until she felt his fingertips brush her hands. He tensed up and his heart skipped a beat as he took the cloth from her.

He wiped his tears away, then gave it back. He couldn't help but stare into her pale lavender eyes. Even though she was so timid her eyes were filled with kindness. He seized her by the wrist and pulled her close to him. Before she could move away he locked his arms around her in a tight embrace.

"S-Sota..! What are you doing?" She replied, her face red with embarrassment. They stayed like that for a few minutes before he let go.

"Sorry." He replied moving away. "Hey Hinata. Don't tell my parents you saw me."

"Huh? What do you mean?" She asked.

"Just don't tell anyone you saw me. Please." He placed his hands together and did a slight bow.

"Um okay." She said. He raised his head and began to walk away. "Where are you going?"

"I don't know yet. But just remember you'll always be able to find me." He said with a faint smile. After walking away that faint smile faded. ~I want to tell her. But she's in love with Naruto. Naruto…~

He kept on repeating it over and over inside of his mind. Hinata's in love with Naruto. Anger began to rise inside him. Before he knew he was in front of Naruto's home. He crawled in through the window and jumped inside. Surprisingly Naruto didn't wake up. He stared down at him as he slept.

"Oh...of course I'll have another ramen bowl. I could eat it all day." He said turning over. He clutched a pillow and tried eating it.

"Naruto…." He growled as the sharingan formed in his eyes.

"Huh?..." He sat up slightly dazed. "Sota? What are you doing here?"

Outside of his house Asuka and Yoshi were looking for Sota everywhere. "Sota!" Yoshi yelled. "Where is he?"

A scream came from behind them. They looked to see Naruto on the ground. He had been knocked out of his house. "Naruto!" Asuka said.

"Is he okay?" Yoshi asked.

"Ugh….what was that for?" He groaned losing consciousness. Sota jumped down, landing a few feet from them.

"Move away from him you guys." He said.

"Sota what's wrong with you?!" Yoshi yelled.

"Nothings wrong. I just want to hurt this idiot." He replied.

Asuka stood up and turned to face him. "I don't know what's gotten into you, but I do know that you're not hurting anyone."

"Yeah? And what are you going to do?" He asked.

Her eyes turned to sharingan instantly, she lunged at him knocking him off his feet. He hit the ground but shot back up doing a hand sign. A giant fireball came at the three of them. Yoshi grabbed Naruto and moved him out of the way. Asuka countered the incoming fireball with her own. As the two collided an explosion could be heard throughout the entire village. Anger engulfed his face.

He quickly drew a kunai from his pouch, the dagger broke the sound barrier as it flew threw the air. A quick cry could be heard from the other side. Asuka fell to the ground. The kunai was protruding out of her shoulder. As she pulled it out he kicked her in the back. She turned around and punched him in the stomach. She knocked the wind out of him, stunning him for a brief moment.

The fight was beginning to get out of hand as villagers began to come out of their homes. But neither of the two were done yet. He regained himself and delivered a swift sidekick into her stomach. From there he switched from Sharingan to the Byakugan. In the blink of an eye he hit three main chakra points. She went flying into a wall. Yuki, Yuko along with other Jonin and Tsunade arrived not to long after.

"Both of you stop this right now!" Tsunade yelled.

"Stay out of it!" Sota yelled. Taking this opportunity to attack Asuka pushed off the wall towards him. A red rasengan swirled in her hands, her eyes like the nine tails. He stood there in shock as the attack hit him straight in the stomach. He was pulled off his feet and spun violently through the air. He flew out of the village and into a tree.

"Sota!" Yuko yelled. He stood up weakly and ran farther into the forest.

"Kurenai, Guy, Asuma go after him." Tsunade said. The three of them went off into the forest.

Asuka fell to the ground. Kakashi and Yuki went over to her. "She's just unconscious." Kakashi replied.

"Oh man. What'd I miss?" Naruto said waking up.

The Jonin returned after a few hours. Sota was nowhere to be found. Since it was late at night they waited until morning to address the subject. Once morning came Lady Tsunade called in Kurenai and the rest of Asuka's family. The atmosphere was very gloomy.

"So Yuki. What else aren't you telling us?" Tsunade asked.

"That's it." He said.

She sat there for a few minutes before standing up. She walked over to him and threw her fist into his face with extreme force. He bursted out of the room and hit the wall on the other side. "That's it?! That's all you have to say?"

"Ugh..I'm sorry Lady Hokage." He said.

She sighed and turned to face everyone else. "How's Naruto doing?"

"Still sleeping in the hospital." Yoshi replied.

"How are all of you doing?" She asked.

"Well…" Yuko replied. She looked over at Asuka who held her head down. "We're trying to keep it together."

"Well isn't this a sight to see?" Said a familiar voice.

They looked over to see Jiraiya. "Oh god…." Yuki groaned.

"Come on Yuki. You're never happy to see me." He said.

"You hit on my wife 11 years ago." He replied getting up.

"It's not like Asuka was born." He responded.

"She was 2 years old!" He yelled.

"Alright I get it you're still mad." He said.

"Jiraiya why are you here?" Tsunade asked.

"Hm? I've come to take Asuka with me. Today's a training day." He responded.

Yuko sighed. "Asuka go with him. It will take your mind off of things."

She stood up and walked out of the Hokage's office with Jiraiya. They stood outside of the building. She held her head down sadly. "Hey cheer up kid." He said. No answer. He left for a moment and came back. "If you don't cheer up soon I'll have to throw these away." She looked up to see him holding two popsicles. He pulled one apart and gave one half to her.

After taking a bite of it she slowly started to feel better. "Thanks Jiraiya." She replied.

"No problem. Now then let's meet up with Naruto before these melt." He said. They headed over to the training field where Naruto was waiting. Once they got there they finished up the popsicles.

"Alright pervy sage! Let's get on with the training!" Naruto yelled.

"Naruto...I'm sorry." Asuka said.

"Hm? What are you sorry for?" He asked.

"For what Sota did." She replied.

"Well it's not your fault. Don't worry I'll bring him back for you." He said.

"...Thanks." She said.

"Alright you two enough chatting. Time to get down to business. I have an offer to make." Jiraiya said. "How would you guys like to become my permanent students?"

"Permanent?" She asked.

"That's right." He said.

"That's awesome!" Naruto yelled.

"Now hold your horses. Naruto I know you can go. But Asuka what about you? Are you sure you're up for the challenge?" He asked.

She thought back to everything that's led up to this point. And then the events of yesterday. "...I'm ready. And I'm going with you."

"...Well alright then." He said.

It was settled then and there. Not to long after Sasuke left the village. After Naruto was healed up from his battle they left as well. Asuka didn't bother to tell Yuki and Yuko. She left a letter to them. She knew if she faced them they would say anything to make her stay. No one knew how long they would be gone. Or how long it would take to find Sota or even bring back Sasuke. What they did know was that it wouldn't happen in a day.

 **Even though I didn't write it they did the whole thing of Naruto going to look for Tsunade. I'm trying to not rewrite the entire series.**


	14. Chapter 14

_**Chapter 14: Returning To The Hidden Leaf Village!**_

 _ ***Sorry this took so long but here it is chapter 14!***_

2 and a half years have passed since then. The village had changed a great deal. Yuko walked outside and began watering flowers. She looked over to see the door open. Yoshi walked out. Her hair was still dyed blonde like Ino's, except it was much longer now and pulled into a ponytail. She wore her headband around her neck with a maroon top that didn't cover her stomach. She wore shorts that came halfway down her thighs with black boots.

"I'm going mom." She replied.

"I still highly disapprove of what you're wearing. Ino is not a good role model." She said going back to watering.

"I know you say that every week." She said leaving.

Three figures were seen not to long after walking into the village. "Oh hey look. They're back." Said a ninja.

He placed his bag onto the ground and jumped up onto a pole. "I'm home. Naruto Uzumaki has returned to the Hidden Leaf Village!" He yelled.

"Naruto! Come on!" Asuka yelled. He jumped back down in front of her and Jiraiya.

He still pretty much looked the same. The only difference was him jump suit was now black and orange. The cloth of his headband was now black instead of blue. Asuka's look was different. Her pink hair was now past her shoulders and midway down her back. She wore a sleeveless shirt with long black gloves going down her arms and blue shorts with a black kunai pouch on the right side of her leg.

"Alright where to?" He asked.

"Asuka why don't you go see your mom and dad?" Jiraiya suggested. "You did leave without saying goodbye."

"Oh yeah you're right. Alright let's go." She said. The three of them walked through the village until they made it to her house. "Mom!"

Yuko looked over to see all of them. "Asuka?"

"We're back." She replied.

"Look how much you've grown." She said hugging her. "I see you've gotten taller." She said looking over at Naruto.

"And I've gotten a lot stronger!" He said proudly.

"So where's dad and Yoshi?" Asuka asked.

"Your father's out on a mission and I think Yoshi went to the flower shop." Yuko replied.

"Let's go find her. I wanna see the look on her face when she sees us." She said. The three of them left while Yuko went inside. While walking around they ran into some more familiar people.

"Hm?" Jiraiya said.

"Something wrong pervy sage?" Naruto asked.

"Asuka isn't that your cousin over there?" He said.

They looked over to see Maru. Her side ponytail has now turned into a down ponytail. She wore a long red sleeveless kimono with slits along the sides. It looked something like Temari's but not as revealing. She had long black fur lined gloves and long black fur lined boots. The collar of her kimono was also fur lined.

"Maru!" Asuka yelled going over to her.

"Oh. Hey cousin." She replied. "You guys are back."

"Yep. So how's everyone been?" She asked.

"Kazuki's gotten taller for one and now he's really into puppets. He wants to learn from Kankuro. Kozaru cut his hair and is trying to get some girl to like him. And Honoka well….she's grown her hair out." She said.

"Sounds like she stayed the same." She replied.

"She hasn't been the same since you know who left." She said. Naruto held his head down a little at that comment. Put he perked right back up when Jiraiya placed his hand on his shoulder.

"Oh that's right. Why are you just sitting here? Are you waiting for someone?" Naruto asked.

"Yeah...but they're late." She responded annoyed. After that something was heard through the bushes. Out came a giant dog right next to them. It was Kiba and Akamaru.

"I got it!" He yelled carrying Maru's fan. "Hm? Hey Asuka! Naruto!"

"Kiba! You look different." Asuka said.

"Forget looking different look at Akamaru!" Naruto yelled.

"Just give me my fan." Maru said taking it from him. "I swear there better not be teeth marks on it."

"I went all they way across the village to get it and you can't even say thank you?" He said jumping down from Akamaru.

"No I can't because you were late bringing it." She said checking it.

He growled and crossed his arms. "Well that's the last favor I do for you."

"You guys argue like an old married couple." Said Kazuki from behind Naruto, Asuka, and Jiraiya. Kazuki's hair was down not to far from his shoulders. It was slightly messy and unkept. He wore a beige short sleeved shirt and long pants with bandages covering his wrists and hands.

"Oh you're here too?" Naruto asked.

"Yeah. Lady Tsunade called everyone here. Don't know why but hopefully it's something important." He replied.

"Hey! Asuka! Naruto!" Sakura yelled.

"Sakura." Naruto said.

"I can't believe you guys are back." She replied.

"Yep. We're back and better than ever!" He said.

"You've gotten so much taller." She said.

"Hm?" He held his hand to his head and then to hers. "Oh you're right."

Not to far away from all of them Hinata ducked behind a corner. ~Naruto came back.~ She thought. A slight chill went up her spine. If felt as though there was someone standing behind her. Looking back quickly the only thing that was there was silence.

"Hey Hinata." Kazuki said appearing in front of her.

"Ah!" She yelled slightly.

"Lady Tsunade wants us to come to her office. That includes you." He replied.

"Oh um..ok." She said.

After sometime Kozaru, Honoka, and Shino joined the group. The ten of them headed to Lady Tsunade's office. "Oh. Naruto Asuka you're back."

"Is there a mission you want us to go on Lady Tsunade?" Asuka asked.

"And you're prepared to leave again I see. Well Asuka as you know your brother left sometime ago. And we have reason to believe he's somewhere near the Hidden Sand Village."

She held her head down as the painful memories came back. Kazuki placed his hand on her shoulder. "What is it that need us to do?" He asked.

"In a few days I'd like all of you to head off to the village. But for now I want you to relax until I call you back.." She replied.

"Aw man! Is that what we came down here for?!" Naruto groaned.

A vein appeared on lady Tsunade's head. "Don't start complaining Naruto. You waited 2 years. A few more days won't kill you."

All of them left and headed to Asuka's house. They sat down in the kitchen catching up. "So guys how was your training?" Sakura asked.

"It was great." Asuka said.

"It was more than great, it was hilarious. You'll never believe what happened when these two were practicing the rasengan." Jiraiya said.

~Flashback~

"Alright Naruto let's do this!" Asuka yelled charging a rasengan.

"Let's go! Rasengan!" He yelled. The two of them charged at each other. Before their attacks could hit they disappeared into thin air. Their heads made a loud noise as they smacked into each other and fell back into the water.

~Present~

"Those two had hardly mastered the technique!" Jiraiya yelled laughing.

"Oh yeah what about the time you got beat up by that lady's husband and father because you were peeking on her in the women's bath?" Asuka said.

"Uh! I have no idea what you're talking about!" He said. All of them soon bursted out into laughter. After spending the rest of the day together everyone went back home, Jiraiya was the only one to stay behind. Yuko and Yoshi went out to buy some groceries for dinner while Asuka stayed at the house.

"It's been so long since I was here. Your mother really knows how to keep a clean house." He said looking around.

"Hey Jiraiya. How do you and my father know each other?" She asked.

"Hm….I met him when I was about your age. We got sent on a mission to find some thief. We argued so much and got into a fight." He replied. "We were fighting so hard the thief came out of hiding scared out of his mind."

"Yeah and then we got scolded by the Hokage for using so many jutsus near another village." Yuki replied walking in. He walked over to where Asuka was sitting. She got up and they hugged immediately.

"Sorry I didn't tell you I was leaving." She replied.

"It's alright. I trust you just not him…" He said glaring up at Jiraiya.

"Uh! Oh come on you really think I would hit on your daughter?" He shook his head yes to his response. "Oh come on I'm not that much of a pervert! I mean-be quiet!"

After a few days of waiting it was finally time to go to the Hidden Sand village. The ten of them lined up at the gate. They went in groups of three and one group of four. The groups consisted of Naruto, Asuka, and Sakura. Shino, Kiba and Hinata. Maru, Honoka, Kazuki, and Kozaru. Kakashi sensei was going along as well for obvious reasons.

"Alright you guys be careful out there." Yuki said.

"We'll be back soon." Kozaru said. They set out into the forest. After traveling for sometime the group got a bad feeling.

"Something isn't right." Sakura replied.

"What do you mean?" Kazuki asked.

"We've been running around in a genjutsu." Shino said. "Sensei."

"It seems whatever put us in this is not to far behind." Kakashi said. Shock appeared on Maru and Honoka's faces as the tree they were about to jump to disappeared. Gravity wasted no time pulling them down.

"Guys!" Kiba yelled. As he jumped back for them, the trees enclosed around him. "What the hell?!"

"Kiba!" Hinata yelled. The trees began to do the same to her.

"Hinata!" Naruto yelled.

A shadow clone appeared and he formed the Rasengan breaking the trees. But more and more kept on trapping them. Soon the entire forest was closing in. Naruto, Asuka, and Sakura were trapped on one side, while Kakashi sensei and the others were trapped on the other. Asuka and Sakura started to punch through the trees to the best of their abilities.

Asuka looked over to see a ninja appear from the tree. "Sakura watch-" The branch below her snapped before she could finish. The ninja knocked Sakura off of the other tree as well.

Summoning multiple shadow clones Naruto created a chain and jumped down. He grabbed Asuka's wrist with every ounce of strength that he had. She reached out to grab Sakura, who's hand was only a few inches away from hers. But all hope faded as she slipped through her grasp in a matter of seconds.

"Sakura!" She yelled as her friend fell into the darkness.

He hoisted her up onto the tree. Somehow the forest returned to its original state. They looked over to see Kakashi, Shino, Kozaru and Kazuki were the only people left. They jumped to the ground hoping that their friends were at the bottom. But once again that hope faded.

"They're gone. What do we do now?" Kazuki asked.

"We continue the mission. When we get to the Hidden Sand Village we'll tell the Kazekage. From there we can gather up a search party." Kakashi replied. They nodded their heads in agreement and continued on with the mission. Asuka held her head down worried.

"Don't worry I'm sure they're fine. And I'm sure Sakura's okay too." Naruto said reassuring her.

~Elsewhere/Hidden Sand Village~

"Lord Kazekage I have an important message." Said a ninja opening Gaara's office door.

"Yes what is it?" Gaara replied looking up from his paperwork.

"It's a letter from a Western village. They would like to discuss things." The ninja said handing him the paper.

He took it and glanced over it. "Very well. I shall head over there now."


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15: Soulmates From The Beginning

 **(Okay this is a love chapter. Now don't skip over it there are some important things that are said in this chapter. I'm getting all of the pairings out of the way so the rest of this story can be filled with drama, action, and more drama!)**

Gaara sat in his office doing paperwork. It was a slow day in the village. There was a knock at the door, a ninja came in. "Lord Kazekage I have an important message."

"Yes what is it?" He replied looking up from his paperwork.

"It's a letter from the Western village. They would like to discuss things." The ninja said handing him the paper.

"Very well. I shall head over there now." He got up from his seat and left the room. After sometime he went to the gate of the village. Temari and Kankuro stood there waiting for him.

"Alright let's go." Temari replied.

"You want to come along?" He asked.

"Eh why not. We've got nothing better to do." Kankuro said.

The three of them headed off to the Western village. Upon arriving it was completely different from the Hidden Sand village. From the clothes the towns people wore down to how their houses were built. They walked up to a large Japanese castle. It was surrounded by hundreds of guards. They looked over the three of them and let them in after taking down some information.

A servant led them into a large room. In the room sat a familiar lady in front of a large door. "Welcome Lord Kazekage." Said Reiya.

"You're…" Gaara trailed off.

"My you've grown into a handsome young man." She said. His face turned red at her comment.

"I apologize for how I was when we first met." He said bowing.

"No need for that. It's all water under the bridge." She cleared her throat. "Now for more pressing matters. Yuri you can come in now."

The door opened wide, Yuri stepped into the room. Instead of a blue kimono she wore a lavender one with lily flower patterns and a gold sash tied into a ribbon wrapped around her waist. Her brown hair reached down past her ears and came down slightly above her shoulders. A fancy small crown was placed neatly on her head. She sat down in front of them with a kind smile.

"I'm so glad you make it here today." She put her hands together happily.

"Hey it's the brat from before." Kankuro whispered to Temari. She chuckled slightly.

"I was informed you had something you wanted to discuss with me." Gaara said.

"Why don't we leave you two alone." Reiya suggested. The three of them left the two to discuss.

"Back to the topic at hand. There seems to be some difficulty trading items between the villages." She said. "I have reason to believe that someone may be tampering with the items."

"It is a possibility. Who exactly do you have in mind?" He asked.

"A few years ago I released my personal doctor. He didn't seem too pleased with me because of that." She replied.

"Why would a doctor sabotage the trading?" He asked again.

"He wasn't just a doctor. After he left I found out that he was also doing illegal experiments." She said looking down.

The atmosphere in the room went a little stale. They sat there in silence for a few minutes before she spoke again. "Anyway enough of that. You must be tired let me show you to your room." They got up and walked down the hall. The castle itself was very large so you could probably get lost in it quickly. They stopped in front of the door to his room.

"Thank you." He said.

"You're welcome. Just call if you need anything." She said leaving. He stared off in her direction for a bit before opening the door.

"So how was your chat?" Reiya asked teasingly behind him. He moved back a bit.

"Oh. You startled me." He said.

"If you don't mind me asking Lord Kazekage but are you involved romantically with anyone?" She asked.

"Uh! What do you mean?" He said his face a deep red. He turned away to hide his embarrassment.

"Just joking with you." Reiya laughed. She closed the door and headed down the hallway.

Gaara stood there confused. He looked out the window. The sun had begun to set and the people were going inside of their homes. He pulled out a tatami and set it up. After a while a servant came in letting him know dinner was ready. He walked into a large dining area. Temari, Kankuro, and Reiya were all sitting there.

"Excuse me madam but the princess isn't in her room." Said a servant. "Shall I go check the garden?"

"Oh no that won't be necessary. Lord Kazekage would you be a dear and go get her for us? This will give you an opportunity to get more acquainted with things." She opened a door to the outside. "If you wouldn't mind that is."

"Um no not at all." He put his shoes on and walked outside.

"So should we wait for them?" Kankuro asked.

"No. They'll be busy for sometime." She said.

"Is this some kind of plan to put these two together?" Temari asked.

"Of course it is. They would make such a cute couple." She replied taking a sip of tea. "Besides...I'm worried about Yuri's safety."

"What?" Kankuro asked.

"Oh nothing! Nothing!" She said.

The garden was much larger than expected. After searching for sometime he actually got lost. The sun had disappeared and the moon took it's place. He stopped at a gate that surrounded a large lake. The moonlight shined down on it making it glow. Out of the corner of his eye he saw a figure. He looked over to see her sitting under a tree that overlooked the lake.

Under the moonlight her hair flowed in waves around her face. Her eyes, framed by long lashes,shined violet and seemed to lighten up the night. It was as though he was staring at a painting brought to life. She held a book in her hands, and laughed to herself from time to time. He felt his heart jump inside of his chest. She looked up and noticed him there. They locked eyes instantly.

In his eyes she looked like a painting, in her eyes he was a prince right out of a fairy tale. His green eyes that glowed with anger and sadness looked much kinder. His red hair swayed back and forth through the night hair. Like his, her heart jumped inside.

"Yuri Gaara where are you guys?" Kankuro yelled. They snapped out of their trance embarrassed and went back inside.

"My you were gone a long time." Reiya asked. "You can still have dinner then go straight to bed."

"Yes, I will. Thank you." Gaara said. Later that night as they slept a strange sound filled the room. He sat up quickly. "What was that noise?" Gaara emerged from his tatami and left the room. He looked down the hall and saw three ninjas leaving a room carrying someone. He chased them outside in front of the mansion.

"We're being followed." Replied the 1st ninja.

"I cannot let you leave here. Return whoever you're taking." He said sand flowing around his body.

"Who are you? Her knight in shining armor?" The 2nd ninja replied mockingly.

"I am Gaara of the Sand. Kazekage of the Hidden Sand Village. And I will protect anyone from those who wish to bring harm." He said. Sand grabbed the three ninjas from behind and threw them onto the ground. The person was caught by the sand.

"Hey….! You little-" Yelled the 3rd ninja. He tried to fight back but the other two stopped him.

"Don't. Hanzaki will deal with him soon." Said the 1st. The three of them disappeared from the Mansion grounds.

Gaara went over to the person and removed the covering they were wrapped in. Only to find out it was Yuri. He lifted her up carefully. "Yuri...Yuri." He called softly.

"...Uh...Gaara?" She said weakly opening her eyes. "My head hurts."

"Don't worry. I'll keep you safe." He carried her inside and into her room. The ninjas had drugged her while she was sleeping to keep her from fighting back.

"Gaara." She said.

"Yes?" She motioned her hand for him to come closer. He leaned down so close he could feel her breathing. Before he knew what was happening he felt something soft press against his cheek. His face was as red as a tomato after he figured out what just happened. "Uh! Yuri." He said touching his cheek.

She smiled happily as she went back to sleep. Whatever they used to drug her she was totally out of it. He informed everyone of what happened in the morning. Except what she did. "This is what I was afraid of." Reiya stated.

"What's the big deal don't things like this happen all the time?" Kankuro asked rudely.

"That's not the point young man. Ever since that doctor of our left these kidnapping's have been happening more and more." She said.

"What did your doctor do that caused a problem?" Temari asked.

"Besides illegal experiments he had a crazed obssession with the Hidden Leaf Village. It was disgusting." She replied.

"A crazed obsession…" Gaara said to himself.

~Elsewhere/Hidden Sand Village~

"Bad news guys." Kakashi said. "Gaara isn't here."

"Great." Naruto said.

"And Temari and Kankuro aren't here either so we can't tell them either." He said.

"What do we do now?" Asuka asked.

"Should we wait for him here?" Kazuki asked.

"No. We should head back to the village as soon as possible. Don't forget we lost the others in the forest." Kakashi replied. They left a letter on Gaara's desk and headed back to the Hidden Leaf Village.

~Elsewhere~

Reiya sighed as she looked down sadly. "I'm afraid nothing we have here will be able to keep her safe."

Gaara sat thinking for a bit. "Ms. Reiya I shall offer protection for you and your daughter."

"Are you sure?" She asked.

"Yes. I give you my word." He said.

After sometime Yuri woke up. Today was actually the day Gaara,Temari and Kankuro were suppose to leave. So by the time she got ready they were by the gate. Most of the towns people were there to see them off. Reiya handed Gaara a box of food and medical supplies.

"Just so you're prepared." She said.

"Thank you." He took it and placed it in his bag.

"Have a safe journey back."She said smiling at them.

His face turned a slight red again. "Um...I'll make sure to send help as soon as I return to the Hidden Sand Village."

"We'll be waiting. And Lord Kazekage do come again." Reiya replied.

The three of them and headed home. Gaara traced his fingers alongside his face, the feeling still lingering. A small smile appeared on his face. The two of them looked over at him. "Something wrong with your face Gaara?" Kankuro asked.

He didn't seem to hear them and kept on walking. "Not like Gaara to get lost in thought. "She said.

"Something amazing must have happened then." He replied.

Upon returning to the Hidden sand village after some time Gaara found the letter that was left for him. A thought came in his head and everything started to make sense.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16: Change Is Hard

(These next to chapters take place after the group left and in between their time going to the Hidden sand Village and back.)

The cool wind blew the leaves through the air. The sun had been replaced by the moon hours ago. Stars dotted the sky, and the creatures of the night roamed the forests. A leaf fell gently onto Honoka's face. She shifted her head and sat up from her unconscious state. Everyone was long gone, there were no signs of Sakura and the others. But that wasn't all, not only was everyone gone but she was also in a strange part of the forest.

Her body ached tremendously. Bruises cover her from head to toe, as well as a gash on her head that had begun to heal. She stood up and walked through the darkness. Even though the sky was dark, it was picture perfect. But it soon began to change completely. Large clouds were forming, completely covering the moon and hiding what remaining light there was. A tinkling sound came as the first drops of rain hit the ground. At first it was light, somewhat pleasant. Soon thunder broke through like a hammer hitting the wall. The rain came down hard and merciless. Walking soon turned into running.

She ran through the trees trying to find some cover. Her foot made contact with an uprooted branch, causing her feet to come out from under her. She fell forward and began to tumble. The whole world started spinning and she couldn't tell which way was up and which way was down. She had fallen down a slope and was falling fast. Twigs, branches, and dirt broke her fall slightly. She hit the ground with a good amount of force. Just before blacking out a person walked over to her.

"...Ugh…" She groaned as her eyes opened. She wasn't outside anymore, but inside a house. The rain had stopped completely and it was now morning. Though it took most of her strength she sat up and looked toward the door. Sasuke sat there looking out towards the forest that surrounded them. "Sasuke…"

He looked at her, his eyes cold and dark. "If you're feeling better go home."

"Huh?"

"You're healed up so leave." He said coldly.

His words hurt just as before. But she expected no less from him. Pushing everyone around him away. She wanted to cry, but there were no tears. "No. I'm not leaving. I don't know what it means but all I know is I won't go. And I'm not going to cry either."

"...Whatever. Don't expect me to come running to protect you. " He said standing up.

She ran over and hugged him from behind like she did years ago. "I said I wouldn't cry….but it still hurts when you walk away from me…" She hugged him tighter.

He pulled away and turned to face her. "I don't care about your affection or your tears. All I care about is my revenge." With that he walked away.

"...Sasuke.." She said looking down. She looked over to see black sandals a few feet from her. As she looked up she saw an angry face glaring at her.

"How dare you...hug my Sasuke!" Karin yelled in her ear.

"Huh? Your Sasuke?" She said confused.

"That's right! My Sasuke and don't you forget it!" She said walking away.

Honoka stood there confused for a very long time. She had met another Sakura. Someone worse than Sakura actually. After a while she met the other members of Sasuke's new group, Jugo and Suigetsu. Jugo is nice and Suigetsu is….Suigetsu. But in a sense they seemed to be like a family or so it seems. She stood by a tree messing with her communicator.

"Hello?...Guys….Ugh. It's completely busted." She said trying to fix it.

"What are you doing?" Suigetsu said popping up behind her.

"Ah! Nothing!"

"Sure doesn't look like nothing. Is that a communicator?" He asked. "Because if it is I may just have to kill you. We wouldn't want anyone finding out our location."

"Uh…" Her heart stopped for a bit.

"Man you are too easy." He said turning back towards the house. "But, don't think that I'm joking." He responded leaving.

"...I forgot...it's not like before. These people they're nothing like the others. I have to keep my guard up." She said to herself.

They left and went into a town. Honoka was annoyed having Karin give her dirty looks. And sometimes say some very rude comments. They walked into a bath house. Sasuke went in by himself, while Karin kept on trying to sneak in.

"I'll definitely join Sasuke this time." She said.

"Do I even want to ask?" Honoka said.

"You better not try anything! I'm going to be Sasuke so stay out of my way!" She yelled.

"My god you're louder than Sakura. I didn't even think that was possible." She said quietly.

"Actually why are you even here?! Seems to me like Sasuke's not even interested in you. Sasuke wants a real woman." She said.

"Go right ahead." She replied.

"Huh?" 

"I'm not going to compete with you on anything. You can try but you're not the first one." She walked passed her towards the door to other side of the bathhouse.

"Just you wait! He'll be mine soon!" She yelled waving her fists.

She started thinking about everyone. What if they're still out in the forest hurt? What if they think she's dead? She sunk down far into the water just thinking about everything. She heard Karin yelling on the other side. So she must've somehow gotten over there. The yelling got louder and Honoka got annoyed. She got up and walked to the door, but soon stopped. Out of the corner of her eye she saw something floating on the far end of the bath. She walked over and to get a closer look. Her clothes were floating in the water.

"...Didn't think she'd stoop so low. But I'm an idiot for not seeing when she did it." She replied to herself.

Picking up her wet clothes she wrapped a clean towel around her body and left the water. Walking through a public place with just a towel was embarrassing. She was freezing and angry but didn't show it. As she turned the corner she bumped right into a person. It was Sasuke. He looked down at her wet clothes dripping on the floor.

"Why are your clothes wet?" He asked.

"No reason…" She said. She moved by him but he grabbed her arm and turned her to face him. Her clothes hit the floor and her damaged communicator fell out. "What?...What is it?"

He reached out and removed something from her hair. It was a small mechanical bug. The communicator started to make a high pitched noise until it cut on. Somehow a message began to play.

Sasuke Uchiha….bzzz. I see you've gotten yourself a new group.

"Who is this." Sasuke replied.

Bzzz...that's not important right now. Honoka….bzzzzz how's your head feeling? I bet it hurts.

"What do you want?!" Honoka yelled.

Bzzz...I just wanted to say..bzzz...you are more useful than I thought you were. After all you led me to one of the very few remaining Uchiha….bzzzzzz. The communicator shut off completely after that.

Sasuke threw it against the wall, destroying it. He then turned and faced her. "Honoka. What happened before you got here." He demanded.

"I….." She was tongue tied.

It was almost as if he was staring right through her. She looked away unable to meet his gaze. He backed her against the wall and placed both of his hands on the wall, with nowhere to run she was forced to look at him. Her heart was pounding rapidly. Especially since she was in just a towel.

"What happened?..."

She clenched her fists tightly. "It doesn't matter what happened. You only care about yourself. I'll just go." As she pushed him away he grabbed her arm with force and held her back against the wall.

"Don't walk away from me. I expect an answer." He said staring her down. His tone was much more serious so it was almost terrifying. She was too scared to say anything else so she just looked away. "You're not leaving until you say what happened."

With that he released her and walked away. It felt as though her heart was going to pop out of her chest. Not only because she was embarrassed but she was also scared. It was finally night time and everyone was asleep. Well almost everyone. Honoka knew she had to find a way out of here and fast.

~I'll go now. I won't have another chance like this.~ She thought this to herself as she opened the door. Unfortunately she was greeted by Sasuke. "S-Sasuke!"

"Where do you think you're going.." He said.

"I…." She clenched her fists tightly. This was not the time to be scared. She's a ninja not a little kid. "I'm leaving Sasuke. I can't stay here, I have to find Naruto and the others."

"Naruto…..so you were with him." He replied.

"Sasuke, come with me. You don't have to do this. You can come back to the village." She pleaded.

"I don't want to hear any more of your meaningless words. I've chose the path I want to walk on. And that is to kill Itachi and be the avenger I'm meant to be." He said.

She just couldn't believe everything that was happening. He didn't care about anything but revenge, he didn't care about his friends. He cared about nothing..not even her. Even so she still refused to cry.

~This may be the last time I see him. If that's the case then...I won't let this opportunity go.~ She thought.

She took a step forward wrapping her arms around his neck into a tight embrace. He was unmoved like always. She looked up at him with sadness filled eyes. Her heart began to beat faster as she moved her face closer to his. She knew by doing this it would make it harder for her to leave, but all self control was gone at this point. She closed the gap between them after a slight hesitation. He didn't do it back, he only pushed her away.

"Don't do that again. Next time I'll kill you." Those were the only words he said as he started walking away.

She held her head down crushed. It was to be expected really. Her hands trembled as she fought back tears. "...Sasuke. You're going to come back to the village one way or another. Naruto will make sure of it."

He stopped walking. "Naruto. I'll kill him before he gets the chance. Maybe I should kill you right here and now."

"You can say whatever you want to me. I'll never give up on you. I know you're still in there, we all do." She said.

He returned to his room and she returned to hers. Honoka knew she had to get out of here. But it wasn't over yet. As she started to drift off to sleep the door to her room opened. She looked up to see Karin standing over her with a kunai. She moved out of the way before she could harm her with the weapon.

"You…! How dare you!" Karin growled. "You'll pay for this!"

Sharingan! Honoka said. She grabbed Karin's wrist knocking the kunai from her hand, and kicked her through the door. "You shouldn't fight with anger."

"Shut up!" She yelled getting up. The fight was one sided. She was knocked to the ground once more. "Ugh." She groaned in anger.

A person walked up behind her. It the same young man with purple hair and dark green eyes. "My oh my. Is this a fight over the same guy?" Asked the man.

"Who the heck are you?!" She yelled.

"My name isn't important. All I need is you." He injected Karin with something. She lost consciousness not to long after.

"Karin!" Honoka yelled. A ninja appeared in front of her, knocking her back into her room and into the wall. The two men left as she weakly got up. "Karin. I have to do something." She went off in the direction they did.

Sasuke along with Suigetsu and Jugo followed from behind. "Why'd we let that guy take Karin?" Suigetsu asked.

"He's up to something. And no one's going to get in my way." Sasuke said. "I'll make sure of it."


	17. Chapter 17

_**Chapter 17: Sakura's Decision!**_

 _ **(Sorry this took so long to upload! I had a lot of stuff happen in life but now I'm back! Here's chapter 17!)**_

(This is the last chapter that takes place in between the days of them going to the Hidden Sand Village and back to the Leaf Village. It also happens at the same time Honoka is with Sasuke.)

Sakura woke up inside a small house. Her arms were covered in bandages along with her chest and left ankle. As she sat up in the bed the door opened. This is where things got a little strange, a young man walked in. He wore the same attire as the Hidden Leaf jonin. He had long snow white hair pulled into a ponytail, magenta eyes with a pair of glasses as well.

"Who are you?" She asked. "Have you been sent from the village?"

"You could say that. My name is Koinnosuke." He replied pulling up a chair next to her. "You were pretty beat up when I found you. Mind telling me what happened?"

"...Alright." She said. Her eyes scanned the room and landed on a glass of water behind him. Would you mind handing me that glass of water?"

"Ah sure." He turned and reached for the glass. She moved from the bed, tackling him to the floor.

"Who are you really?!" She yelled holding her arm back. One wrong move and he'd be dead.

"I'm sorry but I can't tell you that yet. Please give me some time." He said pleading with a nervous smile. She clenched her fist tighter. "Please I promise I'll tell you. If you knock me out you won't be able to go back home."

She got off of him and sat down on the bed. "Fine. But don't think I'll trust you. If you even try to do anything shady I'll knock your block off." Normally she would've just punched his lights out but seeing how she was injured….you get the idea. But that doesn't mean he won't be watched carefully.

She got up and went towards the window, but it was covered in dirt, and just a mess. She opened it up, climbed through and looked around. They were actually in a village. But it was deserted, there weren't even any animals around, the only thing that surrounded them were the trees from the forest. Now things were beyond shady, however now wasn't a good time to take action.

Koinnosuke came out of the house. "Ah this is where you went. I've prepared some food if you're hungry." He said.

"Why are you doing this?" She asked.

"Hm? I'm just trying to be nice. Now hurry along the food will get cold." He replied heading inside. She followed after annoyed.

Just who exactly was this guy? The thought kept going around in her head. He wore the clothes of the Leaf Genin, he lives out in the middle of nowhere and not to mention he's been incredibly nice to a stranger! They sat down at the table. Her eyes were like daggers as she stared at him. The table had an array of foods, in all honesty she was hungry.

"Something wrong? Do you not like the food?" He asked.

"I don't trust you at all. Why would I eat anything you give me." She said.

"I see. Okay how about this. If I tell you something about me you have to tell me something about yourself? That way there's trust between us. Sound good?" He asked.

"Fine." She responded.

"I didn't kill anyone to get these clothes. They were given to me." He said. "Now what about you?"

"...I'm a medical ninja." She said.

Telling things about themselves helped a little. Well, the fact he didn't kill anyone to get his clothes made her feel better. Surprisingly he was a great cook. Better than her actually. The others were probably far ahead. And since she didn't know where she was there was little hope that they would find her within a matter of hours. The sand village is a few days away from the leaf so they'll probably send a search party.

Night Time came as Sakura pondered ways to leave this place. She lied back in the bed staring up at the ceiling. Thoughts of Sasuke, Naruto, her parents, and everyone else in the village flooded her mind. Sleep wasn't coming anytime soon. So she got up and left the small house. The sound of water filled the silent night. She walked towards the outskirts of the village and came across a river. Sitting on the side she let her legs dangle. The cold feel felt nice and relaxing.

But all of that faded as she felt something grab her leg and pull her into the rushing current. The river was much deeper than normal. Her injuries were making it difficult to grab onto anything. It would be easy to climb out if there wasn't something grabbing hold of her leg. But that something was a someone as it bobbed up. It was a dead villager. As she looked around multiple bodies were floating through this river. Being pulled into who knows where by the water. The shock from seeing this caused her to panic.

Fear started to settle in. Would she become like these people? A corpse floating along into an everlasting darkness. "K-Koinnosuke!" She yelled. A hand grabbed hers and pulled her up to dry land. There was Koinnosuke swooping in to save her. He hoisted her up onto his lap and held her tightly. "You….actually came."

"Of course. Why wouldn't I?" He said reassuringly. "Sorry I should have told you. There's a village not to far from here. Whenever people die their bodies are thrown into this river. You must have been terrified."

Sakura soon realized how he was holding her. Her face turned a deep red. "Cha! Hands off pal!" She yelled punching him. He crashed into a tree.

"Ow...what was that for? I was just comforting you." He said holding his cheek.

"Comforting's fine! Holding me is another story!" She said.

"I'm sorry. But you just looked so vulnerable scared I couldn't resist." He said. She punched him into the ground this time. "Got it. I'll stop talking." He groaned.

"But….thank you." She said looking away.

"...You're welcome." He said smiling. "I want to be your knight in shining armor." He took her hand and kissed it.

Her face turned red again. "Ok knight then swim back to your queen!" She yelled throwing him into the river. As he came up for air a tree came flying at him.

"AAH!" He screamed as he was crushed. Small bubbles flew to the surface of the water before they ceased. She stormed off back to the house. The next day they sat at the kitchen table. Koinnosuke was wrapped up in two blankets trying not to make his cold worse. "Achoo! You know you didn't have to throw me into the river."

"Alright enough joking around. Who are you really? Do you know anything that's going on with the village?" She asked seriously.

"I guess it's time. The truth is I used to work for a man named Hanzaki." He replied.

"Hanzaki. He's the guy everyone's been worrying about." She said.

"He's a mad scientist who's infatuated with gaining power. Especially the Hidden Leaf Village's power. I don't know his full intent but it's very evil."

"And the jonin uniform?" She asked.

"I took it off of one that was killed. So I could just blend in." He replied. As he looked up at her, he was met with a fist. He flew out of his chair, hitting the ground hard. "Uh….okay. I deserved that."

"You're not off the hook yet. You're bringing me back to the Hidden Leaf Village." She said.

"Alright." He said standing up. "I hope you can forgive me once all of this is over."

"Why is that." She replied.

"You're the only person I've spoken to in years." He said leaving.

She followed after him thinking about the words he just said. I mean come on, he did save her life. And he could have information on Sasuke. "Maybe he could help…" She said to herself.

"Hmmm? You say something? Did I get into your head?" He said almost singing. He was a few inches from her face. She punched him so hard only a foot was sticking out. "Right...be quiet." He said muffled.


	18. Chapter 18

_**Chapter 18: Sleeping With The Enemy!**_

 _ **(Part 1)**_

It had been days since they lost their team members. Only Kiba and Maru were found a day later. They had somehow managed to make it back to the village but they were badly injured. Now the only people who were still missing are Hinata, Honoka, and Sakura. Everyone had gone back to their respective villages waiting to see if the missing would show up anywhere. Kazuki sat in his room working on a puppet. Learning from Kankuro had his benefits, but now he was working on his own to master puppetry in his own way.

A knock was heard on the door. He went towards it, upon opening the door three body's fell on him. "What the hell!" He yelled.

"Ugh...hey kid. Mind if we crash here for a bit?" Said a man with slanted blue eye and very long blonde hair drawn into a half ponytail. He wore tattered clothes and had two other men with him. One of the men has medium-length grey slicked back hair and purple eyes. The other actually resembled Sasuke. He has the same onyx eyes as him, along with jet-black hair pulled back into a low ponytail. They were all injured and could barely stand.

"Aw man." He groaned. One by one he carried them to his room and treated their wounds. "So who are you three. And don't try to lie, I know you're members of the Akatsuki." He said holding up a piece of black fabric. A symbol of a red cloud was still intact.

"Okay. I'm Deidara. These guys are Hidan and Itachi." He said.

"Hm. Well I'll get you guys something to drink." He replied getting up and leaving the room. He paced back and forth in the kitchen thinking.

Three Akatsuki members were lying in his bedroom injured. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity, he could turn them in and get praise from Lady Tsunade and Gaara. Then again Itachi is in there as well. Kazuki didn't forget about what happened all those years ago. But it's best to make them think you don't know anything. He filled three glasses with water and placed them on a tray. As he turned around Itachi stood there.

"Ah!" He screamed dropping all of the glasses. "Why are you out of bed?"

Itachi struggled to stand but he somehow managed. Whatever attacked them must have caught all of them off guard. Bandages covered his stomach and arms, as well as having bumps, cuts, and bruises. "Why are you helping us? More importantly me?..." He said. His voice was low and intimidating. But his gaze is what made Kazuki uncomfortable.

His eyes were different from Sasuke's, It was almost as if he was staring into his soul. No matter where you looked you couldn't escape it. His eyes weren't searing with vengeance however, but with an ultimate sadness and almost regret. "Look you don't need to worry. I'm doing this because you guys are injured. Don't get any ideas." He said cleaning up the glass. He could still feel his stare before he wobbled back into the room. "Man he needs to lighten up."

"Kazuki!" Taka yelled as he opened the door. Kazuki jumped in the air almost stepping on the remaining glass. "Sorry didn't mean to scare you."

"Um..yeah! I...I'll be right back." He said running to his room. He slammed the door looking at the three injured men.

"Whoa what's got you spooked?" Deidara asked. "And where are our drinks?"

"All of you listen to me, if you want to keep your limbs I suggest you keep quiet and hide when I need you too…!" He said menacingly. He's not saying any of this to be mean but let's be honest, if Kazuki is seen with three members of the Akatsuki then he'll be put in jail or worse, Lady Tsunade will deal with him.

Nighttime came quicker than expected. Kazuki snuck through his house gathering sheets and stuff for the guys to sleep on. Maru was being taken care of in the hospital so luckily their parents were going in and out of the house. Kozaru was in his room asleep so that also worked in his favor. He went back in his room to see Deidara in his bed.

"Get out of my bed. You guys sleep on the floor." He whispered loudly.

"Huh?! Come on Kazuki my man I'm injured. You should let your guests sleep in your bed and you on the floor." He replied.

"I'm not sharing my bed with anyone let alone with a man! Now get out!" He yelled pulling him.

"This is so damn annoying. I'm not sleeping on the floor." Hidan said annoyed.

"What do you want me to do? Get beds and put them in here? Four beds are barely gonna fit in here." He said irritated.

"I mean you do have this empty room by your bathroom." Deidara said opening a door.

"Hey that's my puppet making room." He responded.

"Not anymore. Now go get those beds." He said sitting on the bed.

"Ugh I'm gonna strangle you in your sleep." Kazuki said. It took awhile but he managed to find 3 beds for them. After setting them up he flopped down on his mattress. Today has just been crazy. Not only are there 3 enemies in his house but their in his bedroom!

As he let out a sigh of relief a shadow appeared over him. He looked down to see Itachi. "What now? You want me to fluff your pillow?" He replied sarcastically.

"...Ugh." He groaned as he fell on the floor.

"Hey!" Blood was seeping out of his side as his body burned all over. "Why didn't you tell me your wound opened back up?! And you have a fever!" He yelled jumping up. After bandaging him up once again and giving him medicine Kazuki was finally ready to get some sleep. There's only one problem…

"Hey Kazuki." Said Kozaru knocking on the door.

"...Ah hell. One second!" He yelled back. There was no time to move Itachi. He would have to try his best to hide him. He placed him on the bed, threw the covers over him and got under. "Come in!"

"Hey who are you talking to in here?" He asked opening the door. The scene was awkward as you can imagine. There sat upright Kazuki in his bed, his pajamas messy because he put them on in a rush and a huge bulge on the other side of him.

"Yes?" He said trying to hide his nervousness.

"Um…who is that in your bed?" Kozaru said giving a smirk as he walked over to him.

"No one." He replied quickly.

"Oh I see. You got a girl in here little brother!" He said rubbing his head. "I didn't know you had it in you."

"Um….yeah..girl." He said.

"But what kind of girls are you into? I mean look how much taller she is." He replied pointing to the "girls" legs. "Come on let me get a look at her. Is she pretty?"

"Will you get out already!" He said pushing him out.

"Okay. Okay. I'm just joking. Good night." He said leaving.

Kazuki sighed as he shut the door and locked it. He flopped down on his bed and fell asleep practically immediately. Sunlight shined through his room some time later. He felt like he got hit with a rock. Itachi was still sound asleep. His temperature hadn't changed a bit. Deidara and Hidan hadn't woken up either.

All three of them seemed to be more exhausted than he realized. They must have been beyond desperate and extremely tired to accept help from a sand ninja. He wonders how long they had been traveling. He walked into the kitchen to make breakfast.

Hidan and Deidara sat at the table already eating a bunch of junk food. "Morning." Deidara said.

Kazuki yawned as he opened the fridge. "Morning…." He jumped back to face them. "What are you doing out of the room?!"

"You're crazy as hell kid if you think we're gonna stay cooped up in your room all day. What do ya take us for?" Hidan asked.

"Relax man. We know how to sneak around, we won't get caught." He said taking a sip of his drink. By this time Itachi woke up and sat at the table.

Kazuki sighed as he fixed a proper breakfast. After eating the four of them sat at the table. "So. What happened to you guys? How'd you end up here?"

The two looked over at Itachi and gestured. Almost as if to say 'you know the story better.' "We were attacked by a man named Hanzaki. He ambushed us in the forest."

"How did he take down the three of you?" He asked.

"He used the Tsukuyomi against us. I was in shock by it that I let my guard down." He said.

"Yeah and some cheap imitation of me came out of nowhere with these crazy knock off explosions!" Deidara said upset.

"Don't even get me started on how he disrespected Lord Jashin!" He said slamming his cup down.

"Wait a minute. How can a none Uchiha used the Tsukuyomi? That isn't possible." Kazuki replied.

"I believe he's trying to create artificial techniques. It wasn't that powerful however." Itachi said.

"Okay let's say he is somehow creating artificial techniques, people, or whatever. How is he even able to do that?" He asked.

"He would need the dna of the person to make these creations. I'm not sure how he got ours." He replied.

"My guess is he's been experimenting on people for a while. More than likely Hanzaki probably kidnapped ninjas for all of these creations." Kazuki said.

"Well Kazuki my man, what's your look on everything?" Deidara asked.

"If he is somehow creating artificial techniques and even people, then we may be heading towards a war." He said.


	19. Chapter 19

_**Chapter 19: Sleeping With The Enemy!**_

 _ **(Part 2)**_

As the four of them sat at the table Kazuki heard the front door open. "Kazuki!" Called Mikan his mother.

"Oh...crap. Hide!" He said. He shoved all of them in his room. He ran back to the kitchen to see Mikan with a box. "Hey mom..."

"Hi Kazuki. Want some riceballs?" She asked.

"Sure. I'll take them all." He said.

"Well aren't you hungry? You must really want to grow big and strong." She replied patting his head.

"Mom I'm not a kid."

"Yeah but you're still short." She replied. "I'll be in the living room." As she heads into the other room, he grabbed the box and went into his room.

The three men sat around waiting. "Alright. We're going to need to get more information." Kazuki said.

"And just how are we going to do that? Like you said kid, we're Akatsuki remember. You can't trust us." Hidan replied.

"I know that. But as of right now we have to work together." He said.

"No we don't. You're just helping us until we have the energy to move again. We have no obligation to you whatsoever." Deidara responded.

"You'll help if you don't want to be imprisoned. I may get in trouble for hiding you out but wouldn't the Kazekage love to hear that I have the guy that kidnapped him!" Kazuki said getting into Deidara's face.

"You wouldn't dare." He said.

"Wanna bet?" As they glared at each other Itachi put his hand on Kazuki's shoulder.

"That's enough. We need to focus on the task at hand." He said.

Kazuki sighed. He went over to the closet and pulled out 3 cloaks. As he distributed them out he began getting his ninja tools. "I made you some extra clothes in the meantime. At least you won't get noticed so easily."

"Where are our original clothes?" Hidan asked.

"Ripped to shreds. So I threw them away." He said putting his kunai pouch on.

While they were busy talking Mikan began cleaning the kitchen. She went over to the garbage to take it out and stopped in her tracks. There it was, a piece of black ripped cloth. The red cloud that was still intact seemed to stare back at her.

She picked it up an examined it from head to toe. Then something caught her attention. Heading down to Kazuki's room she placed her ear against the door, listening intently. It voices were slightly muffled but it was clear. Kazuki wasn't alone in there.

"Alright let's get going." Kazuki said. But before anyone could respond the door opened. In that moment time had almost stopped for everyone. Mikan stood there motionless, clutching the fabric in one hand, the other low at her side.

Kazuki stood there his eyes widening as the scene became more clear. Before he could say anything Deidara grabbed him, pressing him firm against his body. Itachi and Hidan grabbed on as he summoned a giant clay bird. It bursted through the wall, causing debris and glass to fly everywhere.

"Ah! What are you doing?!" Kazuki shouted.

"We're not risking getting caught! We still have to administer some payback!" Deidara said.

"But you don't know if she suspected you guys!" He replied.

"Whether or not she suspected Hidan or Deidara your mother knows my face." Itachi stated.

That was true. Itachi was an Uchiha, everyone in their family knew who he was. Even so things couldn't get much worse could it?...No..worse couldn't describe what was about to go down.

Sand rose into the sky. The three glanced behind to see Gaara on their tail! His eyes were burning with anger. "I remember you." He said loud enough to hear.

"Hey long time no see." Deidara replied.

"Return Kazuki and surrender. If you don't I can't promise you any mercy." He said, sand started to surround them more.

Hidan took out a kunai, pulling down Kazuki's collar. Kazuki let out a small noise as the blade went across a part of his neck. "You may not know me but I'll enlighten you."

Hidan responded to Gaara. "Pain is something that I enjoy. I have the ability to inflict pain on anybody."

He moved down closer to Kazuki. "Hey wait! What are you doing?!" He shouted. Hidan placed his mouth to the wound, gulping down the blood that flowed. "This feels so weird!" Kazuki shouted, his face a deep red.

Gaara's eyes narrowed. He knew there was a point to this. Hidan moved away, blood smeared on one side of his face. He took the kunai and placed it up to his heart. "I can inflict any type of pain on someone by drinking their blood. I won't feel a thing. So…" He said moving it close to his heart. "Wanna put a gamble on his life?"

Gaara hesitated. He could try and grab them...but if he was telling the truth then Kazuki would die. He decided that it wasn't worth the risk. Gaara's sand retreated as the bird flew off. But that didn't stop the other jonin from going after them. The bird flew high in the sky, the ground was now barely visible.

Kazuki placed a cloth over his wound. "So were you serious about that whole blood thing?"

"Of course. I don't lie. But I actually don't have my proper tools to do so." Hidan replied sitting back.

No words could describe the look on Kazuki's face. His heart sank at the thought that he could have died. Removing the cloth he thought about the whole situation. "So where are we going?"

"No clue. Just gotta get away from the village." Deidara replied. As the four of them stared ahead the bird was hit by a sudden force. It was too late for any of them to react. The bird crumbled instantly sending all of them plummeting towards the ground. Traces of sand floated through the air around them.

 _~Elsewhere~_

"So what else are you hiding?" Sakura asked. Her and Koinnosuke walked through the woods.

"Hm? Whatever do you mean?" He said smiling. She stopped immediately and turned around to face him.

"Look I know what you're doing. You're purposely leading me around in circles. What are you not telling me Koinnosuke?!" She shouted angrily.

"I can't tell you." He replied his smile fading. He looked away unable to face her.

"Why not? Why are you doing this? Just tell me." She said getting closer.

He let out a large sigh. "I believe Hanzaki is planning to destroy the Hidden Leaf Village. I think I know how he may do it."

"How?" She asked.

"He's probably going to start with the Kazekage. Take something he cares about." He said now facing her.

"That could be anyone. It could even be Naruto." The two kept on moving through the forest. After walking for sometime they came upon a small house. A familiar face came out. "Hinata?"

"Sakura." Hinata said.

"Hinata you're okay! We thought something bad happened to you." Sakura replied hugging her.

"I'm okay. I ended up here after we got seperated. And…" She trailed off as the three of them looked over to see someone emerge from the woods. A young boy with long black hair, black eyes almost like Sasuke's and...a leaf headband.

"Is that...Sota?" Sakura asked.

"It's nice to see you too Sakura. Who's this?" He asked setting down wood.

"I'm Koinnosuke." Koinnosuke replied.

"I've been trying to get him to come back for a while. But I haven't had much luck." Hinata stated.

"Sakura we don't really have a lot of time to waste. I think the sand village isn't to far from here." Koinnosuke said placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Wait you were suppose to be leading me to the leaf village!" She responded angrily.

"I'm sorry but can we do this later?" He asked putting his hands together.

"Hinata there's something important we have to do. Why don't you guys come with us?" She asked. Hinata looked over at Sota who paid them no attention. She looked back at Sakura with a sad expression. Sakura sighed. "Okay I know you wanna help Sota. We'll be back. You know he's had a huge crush on you for a while now. It's just like your crush on Naruto." Hinata's face turned a bright red as Koinnosuke and Sakura left.

She looked back over at Sota. "You should've gone with them." He responded not facing her.

"I can't leave you here. Come back with me to the village." She said.

"You know I can't do that." He stated.

"Why? Why can't you look at me?" She asked grabbing his arm.

"Because!" He yelled moving away. "When you look at me that way...with the pain in your eyes I can't say anything. I can't return to the village. Not with what I've done...learned and not while…"

"While what?"

"You heard Sakura. I've liked you for a long time but you don't like me back. You like Naruto. And I made an idiot of myself by attacking him. I can't face my family." He said clenching his fists.

"But I'm sure they'll forgive you. You won't know until you try." She said.

"No! Like I said Hinata...I like you, no I love you." He backed her against a tree, staring deeply into her eyes.

"Sota…what are you doing?" She asked.

"Why can't you look at me the way you do him? What's so great about that idiot?" He said sadly.

"Naruto isn't-" She was cut off as he grabbed her shoulders tightly. Before a response could come out he moved closer pressing his lips against hers. Her face turned a bright red as her eyes opened wide. He pulled away, a look of sadness mixed with anger appeared on his face.

"Sota?"

"Hit me...yell at me..do something! It would be easier if you just hated me…" He said sadly hugging her.

"I could never hate you. I'm sorry I can't give you an answer." She replied hugging him back. "Will you come back?"

"No." He said moving away. "Come on let's go catch up with Sakura and Koinnosuke." He said leaving.

"But-but…" She stuttered going after him.

 _~Elsewhere~_

"Let me go!" Yelled Karin.

"I'm sorry no can do." Hanzaki stated throwing her to the ground. "You're a very important asset to my plan." He dragged her further along the ground, allowing her to get a clear view of the area. The stood high on a mountain top overlooking everything.

"Where am I?" She asked.

"This my dear is the village known for trading with the Hidden Leaf and the sand. The place where princess Yuri resides." He said.

"Princess Who?" She responded.

"All you need to know is she's captured the heart of the Kazekage Gaara. It's all coming together gloriously." He replied holding his arms out in a ruler type manner.

"What? You gonna host their wedding?" She said sarcastically.

"No you stupid girl. I am a man of science. Science is something that fuels the world in most of its knowledge. There is always something to be discovered. And I have hacked into something great." He held her up and turned her to face him. "I have created replicas of jutsus clan abilities. While it's still incomplete this is only the beginning!"

"What does this have to do with me?!" She yelled.

He turned her to face the land. "You're a smart girl..you should be able to figure out something so simple. I need a reliable test subject. I've heard you have remarkable abilities like no other." His hand gripped tightly around her throat.

"I won't be your prisoner…!" She gasped.

"Oh you already are. Those injections you've received over the past few days limit the amount of chakra you can use. In your case however I doubt you'll be able to create a shadow clone." He said low in her ear. A ninja appeared behind them. Using a hand sign he created a cray bird like Deidara's.

"So how exactly do you give people these abilities?" She asked.

"Hm? Are you trying to get me to reveal my secrets?" He let out an evil laugh as a smirk appeared on his face. He shoved her onto the bird, climbing on himself. As the bird took of Karin looked down. Luckily people were still recognizable despite the height they were at.

She saw Honoka running around the village frantically. Sasuke, Suigetsu, and Jugo followed behind, she didn't seem to notice them however. "Sasuke!" She shouted.

Honoka stopped and looked up. "Karin! Wait Sasuke?" She turned to see the three behind her.

"Now for the fun part." Hanzaki said reaching into a pouch. He removed a bomb resembling Deidara's. The ninja took the bomb, dropping it down into the air.

It happened in an instant. No one noticed until it was too late. A loud boom echoed out through the village as the bomb exploded. Buildings collapsed along with villagers being either crushed or knocked back by the force. Honoka opened her eyes to see Sasuke in her face.

"Huh? Sasuke?" She said. She looked over to see Suigetsu and Jugo holding up debris around them. As they threw it off the scene around was horrible. Destroyed buildings, the injured and the dead was the only thing they could see.

"Hello Sasuke!" Hanzaki shouted. The four of them looked over to see to see Karin being held captive by Hanzaki while the ninja held an unconscious Yuri.

"Sasuke!" Karin yelled.

"Who are you exactly." Sasuke demanded.

"I go by Hanzaki Hanazaki. You can take your pick on what you would like to call me." He stated.

"I know you're hiding something." He said.

"Me? I'm not hiding anything. I simply want to see the end of the Hidden Leaf and the Sand!" He stated.

"This guy is the very definition of crazy." Suigetsu said pulling out his sword. The others prepared to fight him as well.

"Children please. I've got more important things to do. I have to plan the end of the Hidden Leaf and the Sand. So goodbye for now." He and the other ninja disappeared in the wind. Sasuke stood glaring.

"I have to get home and warn the others!" Honoka yelled running past him.

Sasuke grabbed her arm, swinging her in front of him. "I'm not done with you yet."

"Sasuke we don't have time for this. I have to go warn Gaara before it's too late!" She said. He was about to say something but she cut him off. "No! I don't wanna hear it!"

She pulled away from him forcefully, running out of the village. "Damn. Girl's got some fire." Suigetsu stated. Sasuke glared at him. "What I'm just saying."

They headed out of the village as well. Soon everyone will gather into the sand village, a fire would soon be ignited everywhere. And some ninjas will fall….


End file.
